Something New
by Xantern
Summary: Roxas was your average, every-day, normal teenager. He had good grades, a group of tight-knit friends; normal stuff. But when a transfer student named Axel comes careening into Roxas' life, everything begins to change. Is if for the better? For the worse? Roxas can't be sure. All he can tell is that it's something new.
1. The Last Day of Summer

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts nor any of its characters**

**This is my first fanfic, enjoy!**

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The Last Day of Summer

_"Good morning Twilight Town! This 94.3 adult hits in the morni-" _Roxas smacked the snooze button on his alarm clock still half asleep. Anyone who knew him could tell you that Roxas was not a morning person. His mother had insisted he get an alarm clock once he turned 15 and started getting pissy when people woke him. He was not a morning person. Five minutes later, the alarm went off again.

Reluctantly, he sat up in bed and wiped the sleep out of his eyes. He stretched his arms and arched his back as a cat might. Gazing out the window, Roxas noticed, to his utter disappointment, that it was raining. "Just great", he muttered to himself.

It was the last day of summer and Roxas had been planning to spend the day with the gang at the beach. The gang being Hayner, Pence, and Olette; his three best friends for as long as he can remember. Thoughts of blue waves and pretzels began to fade.

_Bzzzzz Bzzzzz_

Roxas glanced over at his desk where his phone lay lit up. It was a gray flip-phone that you'd think only one's grandparents would have. The only purpose it served was calling and texting. Just about everyone else had a smart phone or something of the sort, but money had always been tight in the Strife household. Walking over to check who could be texting him this early, he almost tripped over the pile of discarded dirty clothes. He picked up his archaic phone and flipped it open with a flick of the wrist.

_Olette_

_So much for the beach :/ guess we'll meet at the usual spot_

"Of course", Roxas breathed, "what a let-down" Opening his bedroom door, he dragged his feet through the carpeted hallway. Expecting the bathroom to be open, Roxas walked face first into the wooden door.

"Occupied", a perky voice echoed from the other side. "Come on Namine, how long can it take for you to get ready?" Roxas whined while holding his throbbing head. His sister always hogged the bathroom. "Oh stop complaining," she giggled, "you don't even need it."

After much foot tapping on Roxas' part, Namine emerged from the bathroom in one of her usual white sundresses. Roxas glared into the blue eyes that he and his sister had inherited from their father. Both were blonde, and not that tall.

Pushing past his sister, Roxas stomped into the bathroom and closed the door. After splashing cold water in his face, he looked up into the mirror. A mess of spikes sat atop his head. This gravity-defying hairstyle was convenient in the fact that you could never mess it up. Once he got back to his room, he threw on a pair of faded blue skinny jeans. Roxas pulled a black tee-shirt over his head that read _oblivion _inwhite letters. Oblivion was one of his favorite bands and he loved showing support, even though nobody had heard of them. He quickly untied his converse from their previous use and re-tied them tightly around his feet.

Grabbing his phone, Roxas walked swiftly out of his room and down the stairs. He almost made it out the front door when he was pulled back by that same perky voice. "Roxas, aren't you going to eat breakfast?" He thought he could get away without eating this morning since his parents were already at work. However, he knew that if he didn't, Namine would go off and tell them. Roxas swiped an apple from the fruit bowl on the kitchen table and took an over-dramatized bite. "There, happy?" he asked with a mouthful of fruit. "Wait Roxas that's not-" but he was already out the door before she could finish her protest.

"_Should have brought an umbrella," _Roxas thought as he jogged through the rain to the usual place, which was a good mile from his house. Perhaps today wasn't the best day to wear skinny jeans. Roxas heard the slow rumbling of thunder in the distance. "_What a way to spend the last day of summer."_

Pulling back the ratty drape that cloaked the hangout, Roxas stumbled into the usual spot. Pence and Olette were already sitting on the musty old couch and upon seeing a wet, out of breath Roxas, they couldn't help but giggle. Roxas couldn't help but laugh along with them. He could hardly ever be upset when he was around his friends.

"So where's Hayner?" Roxas questioned as he sunk down into one of the arm chairs. "Late as usual," Pence laughed. Pence was a husky kid with dark brown hair that was constantly held in an upright mess by a sweatband. He was a couple of inches taller than Roxas, but where Pence exceeded in height, he lacked in wit. "Figures," Roxas laughed.

"So are you guys as excited for school as I am?" Olette asked with hopeful eyes. "Pfft, as if!" a voice yelled from the entrance of the usual spot. Standing a couple feet from his friends was a dripping wet Hayner. He had short blonde hair that stuck up in curls. Adorned in his usual camouflage pants and black skull tee, Hayner resembled a punk, which, considering his attitude problem, was appropriate. He, like Pence, was crazy athletic and was involved in several school sports.

Roxas played on the struggle team every season, but it was only to kill time. He wasn't bad, but he also wasn't the star player or anything like that. There wasn't much to do back home, so it seemed like the best way to keep himself busy. Plus it allowed him more time with Hayner and Pence. "Can you believe we're getting cheated out of our last day of summer?! I can't, nuh-uh!" Hayner shouted as he swung his arms in the air, as if he was trying to beat up a ghost.

"At least we can spend it together!" Olette threw in optimistically. Olette had wavy brunette hair that was slightly lighter than Pence's. She always wore the most sincere smile. Olette was probably one of the sweetest girls you'd ever meet, always acting as the gang's mother. She did all the organizing when it came to hanging out and she was constantly looking out for the well-being of the three boys.

"Yeah! That's what matters, right?" Pence chipped in. They all nodded, except for Hayner who flung himself onto the other arm chair and muttered quietly to himself. The guy was obviously taking this last day of summer thing harder than the rest of them.

"Did you hear?" Olette began, "There are a ton of new students coming to Twilight High this year! They're all seniors!" Roxas and all of his friends were all Juniors, so he was hardly phased.

"What? Seriously?" Pence asked, "Why would there be so many new students in the Senior class? You'd think by that time people wouldn't want to bother transferring." Pence looked at Roxas for a response and he nodded. It was a bit strange.

After coming out of his mood, Hayner, being the competitive ass that he was, challenged Roxas to a game of darts. Roxas lifted his arm and took the first throw. It landed with a thud just barely sticking to the perimeter of the board. So darts wasn't his forte. "Ha!" Hayner burst out.

"Oh shut up!" Roxas said in a half-serious tone, "Like you could do much better!" Hayner smirked and without taking his eyes off Roxas, threw a bull's eye. "Lucky shot," Roxas muttered.

As they played, Pence and Olette continued idle conversation on the couch, talking what kind of drama occurred between their classmates during break. It wasn't like Pence cared or had an opinion in that sort of stuff, but he had a thing for Olette, so he had to appear as if he did, if he wanted to get anywhere.

The downpour continued to fall. "Hey Roxas, don't you have dinner at six?" Olette asked curiously. "Yeah, why?" Roxas responded through gritted teeth as he futilely attempted to hold his own in an arm wrestling match against Hayner.

"Well I only ask because it's 6:15," Namine continued shyly. "Shit!" Roxas hissed. He shot up from his knees and ran out the door, "See you guys tomorrow!" he called behind his back.

After a couple blocks, it came to Roxas' realization that he was already late, so there was no point of running; it wouldn't change anything. The rain fell relentlessly, plastering Roxas' shirt to his chest. As for his jeans, well they couldn't possibly get any tighter. His hair, oddly enough, was only weighed down slightly by the water it had absorbed and still withheld its unique shape.

Roxas would have continued his miserable walk home, if he hadn't seen a spot of red from the corner of his eye. He stopped in place, oblivious of the rain, and turned to face the alley to his right. It was dark, but that red that had caught his eye was too noticeable to be masked by the shadows.

Without thinking, Roxas walked into the tight confines of the urban crevice. There was a man sitting against the wall with his arms wrapped tightly around his legs, where his face was buried. Long red hair shot out in spikes from the man's skull.

Roxas looked down at the man, perplexed. "Hey," Roxas began, "hey, are you ok?" The man remained motionless. "Sir," Roxas said louder this time, "are you alright?" After getting no response again, Roxas placed a hand on the man's shoulder.

The man slowly lifted his head and met Roxas' gaze. He had the strangest eyes. They were jade, but there was something about them that appeared dull and lifeless. Beneath each eye was a black, inverted tear-drop tattoo. Roxas lifted his hand from the man's shoulder and asked again, "Are you ok?"

Again, no response came. Roxas stood up and looked down at the huddled man, who had his eyes positioned as if they were still looking at Roxas. "You shouldn't be out here," Roxas started, "you'll catch a cold or something." And still the man remained silent.

Roxas began to turn around and head out the alley and stopped to think. He felt terrible about leaving someone in the rain, but the man seemed beyond his reach. If he couldn't even speak, then how could Roxas help him? Looking back once more at the man, Roxas sighed and made his way back home.

Roxas walked up the driveway wondering if his parents would care that he was late for dinner. Roxas' mother, Aerith, wasn't too strict, but Cloud, his father, had once been in the military and liked to have a little order and discipline in his household. The Strife's had a decent household. It looked a lot smaller from the outside, having only one garage door, but that's what all the houses in twilight town were like.

"Hello Roxas," a sweet voice called from the kitchen, "you're late for dinner, what kept you?" Roxas didn't feel like worrying his parents, so he figured he would leave out the whole zombie encounter in the alley. "Hey mom, sorry I'm late," Roxas started, "I…lost track of time." Technically that wasn't a lie

"That's fine. Just call next time so we can be more aware of what's going on." Cloud said solemnly. Cloud Strife had spikey blonde hair and blue eyes. Besides height, the resemblance between him and his son was obvious. Before sitting down at the dinner table, Roxas ran upstairs to dry himself off and throw on some sweats. After coming back downstairs, Roxas sat down at his chair and began to pick at his food. He was still thinking about that red-head's vacant stare.

"Something wrong, Roxas?" Aerith asked with obvious concern. Unlike her husband and two children, Aerith Strife had light, wavy brown hair and green eyes. She always kind of stuck out in family photos next to the three blondes.

"I'm just nervous for school is all," Roxas lied smoothly. Most kids would be nervous for their first day back, but Roxas had been going to Twilight High for a while now and knew how things would go down the next day. If anything he was excited to see all his other friends that he hadn't seen over the summer.

"If you'd like, you may be excused," Aerith said, still smiling, "I know these kinds of things are always stressful." Roxas nodded and smiled back, but not too confidently, so he could still portray nervousness. Of course he felt guilty about deceiving his family, but it wouldn't get to him too much, since it was nothing that important. Roxas got up and cleared his place, and as he walked past the table to leave, he locked eyes with Namine. She gave him a confused look. As if she knew something was up.

Roxas opened the door to his room and to no surprise, it was exactly how he had left it; clothes on the floor, unfinished summer reading books stacked on his small desk, and an unmade bed. His theory was if you were going to sleep in it on the same day you get out of it, then what was the point of making it up? He put his arms behind his head as he threw himself on his bed. He grinned as he thought of all the reunions that would occur tomorrow.

The corners of his mouth drooped down. "That guy…" Roxas whispered to himself, "What's his deal?" Roxas decided to leave it alone and go to bed early. He had been sleeping in all summer and he would need as many hours as he could get tonight if he didn't want to feel like shit in the morning.

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**Thanks for reading! I know it was pretty short, but that should change next chapter. I hope you guys like it so far, and if not, please tell me in a review. I want to make this story as good as possible and I'm completely open to criticism. Thanks again!**


	2. Back To School

Roxas opened his eyes slowly and glanced at his bed-side table. The alarm clock read 5:59. He quickly turned off the alarm so the radio wouldn't get the opportunity to ruin the sound of chirping birds in the distance. Sunlight poured through his uncovered window. Roxas loved the sun, so he saw no need to block it out with blinds.

The sound of running water began to fill the house. The peace was broken. "_So much for that," _Roxas thought to himself. With newfound energy from the realization that he would be seeing all of his friends from school again, Roxas pushed himself off his bed using his hands and landed on his feet. He opened his wooden dresser drawer where several identical pairs of jeans lay folded. After slipping off his sweats, Roxas picked up a pair and slid his legs through them, pulling the jeans up, where they sat a bit below the waist.

Opening his closet, Roxas sifted through all of the different tee-shirts. "What band will I wear today," Roxas whispered to himself, "Hmmm, ah!" Roxas pulled free from its hanger, a black tee-shirt with _Minute Bomb _written in bold, cracked white letters.

As he walked into the kitchen, Roxas noticed a note on the table.

_Roxas,_

_Went to school early so I'd have plenty of time to catch up with everyone._

_Namine_

Grabbing a muffin and slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder Roxas walked out the door with a sense of refreshment. A new school year was like a new start. Who knew what kind of opportunities awaited him? Maybe he'd go for all A's or something.

Roxas walked at a quick pace with a spring in his step as he took generous bites of his blueberry muffin. He didn't bother waking up earlier so he could eat at home, just the idea of sitting at the table in silence, made him antsy.

Since Twilight Town was so small, everyone walked to school. In fact, you could pretty much walk anywhere you wanted. No one needed a car, and if you had to get somewhere beyond walking distance, you would head up to the train station.

Finally reaching Twilight High, Roxas, along with a sea of other students, ascended the stairs leading to the double-door entrance. He took in his surroundings and grinned. A dull tan covered the floors and walls. There was of course the forever annoying fluorescent lights that patterned the Styrofoam paneled ceiling. Then there were the green lockers with paint chipping off. Ok, this high school was crap, but Roxas loved it regardless.

"Roxaaaas!" a distant shout grew louder and louder until Roxas was glomped by a flash of brown spikes.

"Ooff," Roxas let out as he struggled to escape from the boy's bear hug, "Come on Sora, give me some space to breath!"

"Haha, sorry Rox," Sora said as he released the blonde, "I couldn't help it! It's been so long!"

Sora and Roxas had met during freshman year, and had hit it off the moment they met. They would hang out more if Sora wasn't attached at the hip with his best friend, Riku. Sora was about Roxas' height. His hair was a mess of brown spikes that almost fell over his eyes.

"It's been three months, Sora, calm down!" Roxas laughed. But who was he kidding; he was just as excited as Sora was. "So how was your summer?"

"Great! Me and Riku went to the beach like every day!" Sora grinned. "Sometimes Kairi came along too!" Kairi was Sora's other best friend. All three of them had grown up together on Destiny Islands before they moved here. "What've you been up to?" Sora questioned as he put his hands behind his head, a habit of his.

"Just hanging out with the gang," Roxas replied casually.

"Hey Sora, wait up!" A voice called down from the end of the hall. A tall boy with long silver hair approached the two reunited friends, "I know you're excited to see Roxas, but maybe next time you won't push me to the locker in mid-sentence and run off like a maniac."

"Hey Riku," Roxas nodded towards the new party member, "Still babysitting, eh?"

"You know it," Riku let out a sigh, but grinned at Roxas' jest.

"Babysitting?!" Sora burst out, "What's that supposed to mean?!" Roxas and Riku started to laugh as Sora continued to wear his clueless expression.

"So did you hear about the new students?" Roxas asked in Riku's direction. Sora was still pouting, having just figured out the joke Roxas had made at his expense.

"Yeah, weird right?" Riku replied, "I haven't seen any of them. Wonder what they're like." The silver teen glanced at the clock above a nearby water fountain, "Guess we'll have to find out later, it's time for homeroom"

The three parted ways and headed to their individual homerooms. Without turning around, Roxas could hear Riku trying to pry Sora from him as he attempted to enter his classroom. Those two were inseparable; you'd think they were a couple.

Roxas strode to his homeroom; Room 116. He opened the door just as the bell rang. Glancing at the desk in the front of the room, Roxas saw his homeroom advisor and science teacher, Vexen. Vexen sneered, "Mr. Strife, nice of you to join us," he said sarcastically, "Take a seat."

"_Forever a creep, Vexen," _Roxas thought to himself as he made his way to an open desk in the back of the room, right next to Pence. Pence was Roxas' only friend who he had homeroom with, but it was enough to get through the morning. The room was filled with idle chatter until the door opened up again. All the students looked up to see who had entered the classroom. Roxas did the same and his eyes widened.

In walked a tall, almost lanky boy with red spikes of hair shooting from his head. He wore black baggy pants with a sleeveless black top to match. Roxas' mouth gaped open. It was the guy from yesterday, the one he found in the alley! What the hell was he doing here?

"Sorry," the stranger started towards Vexen, "I'm new here and I kinda got lost…" he trailed off sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head with one hand.

"That's fine," Vexen grumbled, knowing he couldn't get mad, "Everyone this is Axel, he's one of the new students we have this year."

No one responded to this announcement Vexen went back to his computer. Axel sat in the remaining empty seat and looked around the room until he locked his jade eyes with Roxas. Roxas quickly turned his head back to Pence.

"Do you know that guy, Roxas?" Pence asked curiously. Roxas could still feel the guys' stare but he didn't dare turn around.

"No," Roxas lied, "So what were you saying about this year's season?" Roxas brought back up their previous conversation as to avoid the subject of the new guy. _"Why is he here?" _Roxas thought to himself, _"Does he remember me from yesterday?"_

_Brrrrriiiiiinggggggg_

The bell interrupted Roxas' thoughts and brought him back to reality. All of the students began to shuffle out of the classroom. Roxas decided to forget about this _Axel_ and move on with his day. He pulled out his folded up schedule from his back pocket and glanced at his next class; Honors Math.

Roxas pushed his way through confused freshman and made his way into his next classroom. He walked into room 124 and looked for some familiar faces. Scanning the room, Roxas found Olette and Riku. They were two of Roxas' smartest friends, the rest were in C.P. Roxas smiled and took the seat between them. If only teachers didn't create seating charts during the second week.

Math was taught by Saix, a strict monotonous man who carried himself as if he were above everyone else. He was brutal when it came to giving out detentions and kicking kids out, but the joke was on him, he worked at a crappy public school. There was also the rumor that there was something romantic between the math teacher and Headmaster Xemnas, which fueled a lot of jokes.

The elite teacher began taking attendance. Roxas didn't bother paying much edition, but one name stuck out as unfamiliar.

"Zexion Ienzo," Saix called.

"Here," came a quiet voice from the corner.

Roxas looked over to where the voice had come from, curious. The student was a short boy with a mop of straight, slate colored hair that hung in front of one of his eyes. He had his head buried in an impressively thick leather bound volume. Roxas figured he must be one of the new students. He wore all black, like that other student, Axe-

Roxas felt Axel's intense emerald gaze bare into him, even though he wasn't present. He shook his head, trying to get the strange redhead out of his mind. Why was this bothering him?

Saix droned on about what supplies the students would need and what the curriculum entailed. He was obviously just as disinterested as the students. Roxas copied down the jist of what Saix was saying.

The bell finally wrung, releasing the now bored students from their dull prison. Roxas stopped by his locker to put away his new textbook that Saix had so kindly distributed. First day and they already had homework, what a jerk. Roxas closed his locker and jumped in surprise when he realized there had been a face behind it.

"Damn it Hayner!" Roxas punched his friend in the shoulder, "Why can't you just approach me like a normal person?"

"You're just too easy!" The other blonde replied in hysterics. Roxas glared at him. "Ok, fine, I'm sorry," Hayner apologized, still smiling. "Hey," he started with newfound enthusiasm, "You ready for gym?!"

Roxas' mouth curled up in a smile, "Yeah, you bet!" Gym was just what he needed. It was always the perfect outlet for stress and a great way to wake up from a snore fest like Saix's class. The two friends raced down the hall and descended the stairs that led to the locker room

"Bleh! First day of school and it already smells like shit!" Hayner yelled in disgust as the two walked into the dank locker room. He had a hand over his nose and his eyes were watering, so were Roxas'. "What do you think we're doing today?"

"Throw on your uniforms, ladies, it's time for Struggle!" yelled their gym teacher; a portly man with a thin mustache.

A cacophony of cheers and whoots erupted from the boys within the locker room. Struggle was a surprisingly violent 'sport' that involved beating your opponent with a soft bat until somebody tapped out.

"Oh hell yeah!" Hayner shouted along with the others as he high-fived Roxas, "We are gonna kick some serious ass!"

"Calm down Hayner," Roxas laughed, "It's school struggle, so if you get too into it, you'll get sent to the office again." Despite his warnings, Roxas loved Struggle just as much as Hayner. It was so different from any other sport.

"Hayner and Roxas, get over here," the gym teacher called. The psyched blonds walked over, "Now I know you guys are on the team, and you're eager to get into it, but most of the other students aren't as experienced. Go easy on the freshman, especially."

The two walked back to the area they had been changing in. They shook their heads and laughed, like they were going to go easy on anybody.

After quickly shucking off their normal clothes and throwing on their gym uniforms, Roxas and Hayner raced up the stairwell that led to the gymnasium. The blue gymnast mats were already set up and a bucket of blue foam bats sat on the bleachers.

Roxas had thought they were the first two to arrive in the gymnasium considering how fast they got ready, but to his surprise, there was already someone up there; sitting on the lowest bench of the bleacher, struggle bat in hand.

"Whoa, check out the tank!" Hayner burst out without trying to contain his voice.

"Idiot, he can probably hear you!" Roxas harshly whispered to Hayner after he slapped the oblivious blond upside the head. The already present student was indeed large, as Hayner had pointed out. He had muscles bulging through his uniform and had to be at least 6 feet. He had hair similar to Hayner, except it was orange. The most intimidating part was his piercing gaze into space and his statue like posture.

"I dunno, Rox, he looks pretty dense," Hayner said as he scratched his head, "whatever, let's go get our bats before all the good ones are taken!" The other gym students had begun to flood through the stairwell door.

"Alright, listen up!" the gym teacher shouted over the chatter of students, "We only have enough mats for four matches at a time, so a lot of you will have to sit out for a while. Line up so I can pick who goes first."

Ironically, Hayner was paired up with the orange haired giant he had just been whispering about. The remaining mats were occupied by other pairs, so Roxas took a seat on the lowest bleacher to watch Hayner's match.

Once the P.E. teacher blew the whistle, the matches began. Hayner instantly snapped his head up and ran at full speed towards his hulking opponent, holding his struggle bat behind him, ready to deal the first blow.

But it never landed. There was a deafening smack followed by a clatter of plastic against wood. Roxas rubbed his eyes in disbelief; this guy had knocked Hayner's bat right out of his hand. Nobody, not even Roxas, had ever disarmed Hayner.

The shocked blonde on the mat hopped back a couple of paces and picked up his bat. Roxas could tell by the way Hayner's eyes stared at his opponent that Hayner was attempting to calculate the giant's fighting style in order to come up with a more effective strategy. The towering boy remained in the same spot he had started in, as if the match had not even begun.

Roxas turned to one of his classmates sitting not too far from him on the bleacher, "Hey, who's the kid Hayner is fighting?" Roxas asked.

"Lexaeus, he's new this year," responded the classmate.

"Hmm," Roxas let out, "Another one…"

"Fine! Not gonna make a move?" Hayner challenged Lexaeus, "I'll be happy to end this!"

This wasn't good. Roxas could tell that Hayner's temper was getting the better of him; that always was his problem.

Hayner once again charged towards Lexaeus, bat extended, ready to strike. In a blur of movement that Roxas could hardly follow, Hayner's strike was countered with a backhand swing to the blonde's stomach, knocking him back several feet. He didn't get up.

"Hayner!" Roxas shouted as he ran towards his friend, who was now on his knees coughing, "Hayner, dude are you ok?"

"Son of a bitch is good," he said in between coughs, "He should join the struggle team." He started coughing into his arm, and to Roxas' shock, it was covered in flecks of blood.

"Idiot," Roxas let out, "I'm taking you to the nurse."

Roxas let the gym teacher know and walked his friend to the nurse's office. She told him he didn't need to be there, so he started heading back to the gym, leaving Hayner behind, coughing up more blood.

"_What a beast,"_ Roxas thought in regards to Lexaeus.

Since he was already out in the hallway, Roxas figured he might as well hit the bathroom before going back to the gymnasium.

Pushing open the boy's bathroom door, Roxas noticed he was not alone.

"Well hello there," Axel greeted in a chipper tone that seemed uncalled for.

Caught off guard, Roxas stuttered, "H-hey…" and trailed off. He started to make his way to the urinal, but the redhead shot out his arm, hand against one of the stalls, blocking Roxas' path.

"You've been avoiding me, haven't ya, Roxas?" Axel asked in a deeper pitch than before, yet still maintained the lofty tone that he had started with.

"N-no, h-how do you know my name?" Roxas stuttered yet again. Why was he so nervous?

"Roxas, relax" Axel drew out both words coolly, "My friend, Zexion told me."

Roxas remembered back to his Math class and the quiet kid in the corner. He must have heard Roxas' name while Saix was taking attendance. But why would he have been listening for it? And why would Axel want to know?

"I don't think we've been properly introduced," the redhead went on, "I'm Axel Lea, got it memorized?" he pointed towards his head while asking the question.

"Roxas…" the uncomfortable blonde responded warily, "Roxas Strife."

"Mhmm," Axel hummed out, "It suits you." As if things couldn't get any more awkward, the taller boy lifted Roxas' chin as to meet his intense, emerald gaze. "Why have you been avoiding me?" he asked in mock innocence. This guy was a real creep.

"Look I don't know what you're talking about," Roxas' voice rose, "Would you get out of my way, I gotta use the-"

Roxas was cut off by the sound of the bell. Just great, he was still in his gym uniform and he was supposed to be making his way to lunch. Roxas swiftly turned around and exited the bathroom, leaving Axel gazing behind.

The rest of the day went by in a flash. Any interactions that Roxas had with his friends, Roxas could not recall; he must have been on auto pilot or something.

Axel…Roxas could tell that this wouldn't be the last encounter the two would share.


	3. And The Questions Multiply

**Wow, I thought I would never finish this thing. For those of you who are still hanging in there and reading this, I can't thank you enough. I really took my time writing this chapter because I didn't want to rush through it and churn out something mediocre. Thanks to my first three reviewers; your words were very encouraging. Enjoy!**

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The next morning Roxas was late for school. The power had gone out during a thunderstorm, which he had somehow slept through, and so his clock had reset, cancelling the alarm. Frantic thoughts flooded the boys mind as he rushed through the halls of Twilight High. Had he done all of his homework? Did that one assignment _have _to be two pages long? He had band first thing this morning and his director, Luxord was not the type you wanted to piss off, especially not in the mornings.

Roxas slowed down to a trot as he approached the band room, knowing that bursting through the door would only make him the center of attention, which was the last thing he wanted. Slowly he opened the band room door and the soft hum that could be heard from outside grew into a booming concert B flat chord. Roxas had forgotten that Luxord had been pushing Xemnas to allow him to soundproof the room.

"Stop," the director cut through the band curtly in a British accent, "why does everything have to be fortissimo with you people? Do it again, and this time, try to produce something pleasant." Sensing a new body in the room, Luxord quickly turned around from his podium and stared down at Roxas. "Mr. Strife," he began, "Would you like to _explain_ your absence?" he questioned with passive fury.

"I over slept," Roxas muttered, trying to avoid Luxord's accusatory stare.

"Fine, go grab your bass and get in the back next to the percussion," Luxord waved his baton behind him, addressing the snickering drummers.

"Right…" Roxas trailed off as he strode to the instrument room. Sweeping his surroundings, Roxas searched for his bass guitar, wondering where Luxord could have put it over the summer. After checking the lower shelves, he looked to the top ones. Of course that's where it would be, the one place he couldn't reach without getting out the stepping stool. Roxas cursed his height as he fetched the stool from the corner. Bringing it down, he swiftly opened the thin long case, lifting his black bass guitar from its home. Throwing the strap over his neck, Roxas jogged out of the instrument room as fast as his jeans would allow him.

To no surprise, the band had already begun to play. Roxas spotted his friend, Kairi, in the front with the rest of the flutes, fluttering away. She lifted her eyes from her music and looked at him; she was clearly amused by his tardiness. Weaving in and out of music stands, trying not to obstruct anyone's view or knock anything over, Roxas finally made his way back to his spot in the very back of the band with the percussion.

His sheet music was already present on the stand, so he started flipping through the songs, searching for the one written on the dry erase board. Leaning over to the guy next to him, Roxas whispered, "Hey what measure are we at?"

"52," was whispered back kindly.

Roxas was taken aback when his question was answered not by the usual bass drum player, but by a new face. He was tall with a crazy stone blond mullet, wearing all black, though he seemed pretty lofty. In his hands was an odd stringed instrument that Roxas had never seen before.

Finding his place in the music, Roxas began to strum quarter notes, enforcing the rhythm of the song. He hadn't wanted to be in band, but his mother insisted that he pursue something extracurricular besides struggle; said it would look good on his college applications. So conveniently, Roxas had been playing bass guitar for a couple years before he came to Twilight High, and Luxord was willing to let him join the school band, even though his instrument wasn't exactly orthodox in such an ensemble. The class was pretty boring. Roxas' skills surpassed what Luxord's music asked of him, but it beat cooking or wood shop by a long shot.

The song finally came to an end with the tuba's holding out their final note and Roxas letting his last chord ring and slowly die down. As Luxord lowered his baton, the students did the same with their instruments. "I have some papers I must attend to," the director began, "You may practice your instruments _quietly_ or put them away and do work, I really don't care." he finished before marching off into his office. It was clear he had a hangover, Luxord was a notorious drunk.

Deciding to take advantage of his free time, Roxas closed his eyes and began to attempt the bass line from a new song that had just come out by _Destined_, whose shirt he happened to be wearing. This was the only time he ever got to practice, since this bass belonged to the school and Roxas didn't have one to call his own.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Roxas snapped out of his zone and looked up to see the grinning face of the new student, who was also still holding his instrument. "Hey!" he greeted Roxas with a perky tone, "Is that the new _Destined _single?"

"Huh?" Roxas was shocked that someone else would know of the song, let alone the band; they were fairly new and not very known. "Um, yeah" Roxas laughed, "Do you like them?"

"Totally!" the guy exclaimed, sweeping the air with his arms, "Their so awesome! Oh! I'm Demyx! Nice to meet you!" he stuck out his hand eagerly.

"Roxas," the bassist responded taking the other's hand, who proceeded to shake it up and down, "Nice to meet you to," he laughed; Roxas had never met someone so enthusiastic, well…except for Sora. "So I gotta ask," Roxas started looking down at Demyx's instrument, "What is that thing? I've never seen that kind of instrument before."

"This?" he looked down at his instrument, "It's a sitar! It's like a guitar but with a different kind of sound," Demyx played a couple notes, emitting a rather mystical sound, "From India!"

"Nice!" Roxas was surprised how comfortable he was talking with this guy who he had just met, "So are you a new student?" Roxas had never seen this guy before, so it only made sense, "I've actually been noticing a lot of them this year."

"Yeah! We all came together!"

"What? Really?"

"Well yeah, but I can't really can't get into that." Demyx said with less enthusiasm.

"Oh, alright then—"

Roxas was cut off by a call from across the room, "Roxas!"

He looked up to see Kairi across the room waving. She probably wanted to catch up. "Well, it was nice meeting you Demyx, I gotta go meet up with my friend."

"No problem man," Demyx smiled, "We should jam sometime!"

"Well I don't actually own—"

"Roxas!" Kairi persisted.

"Gotta go," Roxas said, swinging his bass over his back, "Seeya!"

Demyx waved with a smile before Roxas started to cross the band room. All of the band kids had congregated into their own groups in different corners of the room, so navigating through the once cluttered mess of music stands and occupied chairs was much easier. After placing his bass on a more reasonably leveled shelf in the instrument room, Roxas found Kairi by the main door.

"Roxas, I thought you'd never come over here!" Kairi pouted at the blond, "You'd rather speak with some new guy than _moi_?" she asked with mock hurt.

"Perhaps I would," Roxas grinned slyly, "At least I can talk to Demyx about music."

"You hardly know the guy! You've known me for way longer!" Kairi complained.

Roxas loved to mess with Kairi; she was so easily upset, but would perk up an instant later. "I'm kidding," Roxas laughed, putting his hands up.

Kairi punched his arm, "Jerk," she stuck her tongue out at him, "So speaking of- Demyx was it?- What's with all the new students?"

"It is strange, and I have a lot of the same classes with them," Roxas began to figure, "So they must all be the same age as us."

Kairi yawned. Clearly not entertained by this new revelation, she decided to change the subject to something more relative to her, "So I tried so hard to spend time with Sora this summer, but that dumb Riku kept stealing him away! Just about every time I asked Sora to go do something with me, he'd say 'oh Riku and I are going to the beach' or 'Riku and I are gonna grab some ice cream'. So I'd either have to go and be a third wheel or stay at home! Can you believe that?! How am I supposed to get any alone time with Sora if Riku is always there with him?!" Kairi was panting with a face almost red as her hair.

Roxas chuckled. It was no secret that Kairi had a thing for her childhood friend, but for some reason, come freshman year, she decided to confide in Roxas about it all. He didn't mind too much, it's what made up their friendship, really. Roxas sighed with a grin, "Well I don't know what to tell you Kairi, the day those two separate is the day the world stops turning."

The bell rang and everyone started to shuffle out the door. Kairi poked her head out of the moving crowd and called to Roxas, "This conversation is not over! I will have him!"

Roxas shook his head and grinned. Things never changed. Roxas glanced down at his list of classes that he had yet to become completely familiar with. Scanning the columns and taking into account what today's schedule was, he deduced that he had Anatomy next.

Back in the familiar surroundings that made up Vexen's classroom, Roxas looked around for a friendly face. Surprisingly, he found Sora's among the class. Roxas approached the boy with a hesitant smile. "Hey, Sora," he laughed, "You're taking anatomy? It's supposed to be pretty tough."

Sora's face lit up as he realized who had addressed him, "Yeah, it sounded fun!" his smile wavered a bit, "I was supposed to take it with Riku, but he ended up dropping it to fit an AP into his schedule."

Roxas occupied the empty seat next Sora and patted the pouting teenager on the back, "Don't worry, it's only one class." Roxas rifled through his bag, finding a green notebook. He withdrew a sharpie and wrote _Anatomy _in the top right hand corner. He knew he should have done all of his labeling before school started, but at the time the idea hadn't been too appealing.

"Take your seats," an impatient voice whipped through the air, demanding attention, "We have plenty to cover today and I shall not have my class wasted by chattering teens." Vexen finished snidely.

"Oh here we go," Roxas muttered under his breath, to which Sora snickered none too quietly.

"Any interruptions of my class will result in immediate detention," Vexen snapped, glaring at Sora. He began to walk around passing out papers, "Now what I am handing you now is the class syllabus. Read it carefully, get it signed by your parents, and you'll have a test on it tomorrow."

The room resonated with groans and sighs. "Oh," Vexen continued with a sadistic grin, "If you like that, then you'll love the introductory project I am about to assign you." More complaints traveled through the air. Saix, Luxord, Vexen; it was a mystery why this school had so many bitter teachers.

"You will all be placed in groups of two," Vexen began, "Each pair shall research an anatomical feature of the human body." Students began to point at each other from across the room, confirming their partners. Vexen grinned, "And don't think you will have the liberty to pick your partner, or your subject; you would get nothing done working with your friends."

The dissatisfaction was thick enough to see among the disgruntled teens. "I will now call out the pairs, listen for your names closely, because I will not repeat myself."

Vexen began to read down the list he held in front of him. With each new pair came a slew of complaints; it was like he was purposefully pairing people up who he knew didn't like one another. Roxas leaned back in his desk, taking a sip of water from the bottle he had thrown in his bag before coming to school. There was no reason to worry, for there wasn't anyone in this class that he had any sort of problem with; all would be fine.

"Roxas Strife and Axel Lea."

Roxas involuntarily gasped, and in turn, started to spit and choke on his water. _He _was in this class?! Sputtering and coughing he realized he was being stared at by the entire class, among them was Axel looking equally humored and pleased. Roxas glared back at all the amused faces and turned around, trying to pretend he didn't just cause a scene.

Vexen cleared his voice, "As I was saying…" he continued to go down the list. This could not be happening. Why? Why was this happening to him? He didn't even know the guy, but being around him just made Roxas uncomfortable.

Sora leaned over to the flustered blond, "Hey, are you ok?" Sora asked, confused by Roxas' reaction, "Your face is bright red," he grinned, sharing the class' amusement.

"I'm fine," Roxas shot under his breath curtly. Stupid Vexen; somehow he knew.

"You will now spend the rest of the class discussing with your partner the schedule by which you will meet and the distribution of your future work load." Vexen sighed on, clearly already as sick of his students as they were of him, "Do not exceed the volume level of collective whispers, or the due date will be made a week earlier."

The sound of scraping metal ensued as students moved their desks around in order to find their partners from hell. Speak of the devil, Axel had taken the liberty of coming to Roxas, pulling a desk in front of the blond and seating himself in an energetic fashion that, like Axels expression was dripping with sarcasm.

"Well good morning, Roxas," Axel greeted his partner with a wave, still wearing that damn grin, "Isn't this just perfect? We didn't get much time to talk yesterday, ya know? Now we have all the time in the world."

"Look, I just want to get an A, and get it over with." Roxas said firmly, avoiding Axel's beaming jade eyes. "So let's just sort out who's gonna do what and we'll work from our own homes."

Axel let out a hum, "No can do Roxas. My home's under renovations; it's already an inconvenience just grabbing food and a change of clothes." His smile had actually lowered slightly, and in turn, so had Roxas' defenses.

"If it's that bad, where are you sleeping?"

"I'm crashing at a friend's place," Axel replied as if it were obvious. Now regaining his smile, "You worried about me?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. As the sarcasm in Axel's voice returned, so did the hostility in Roxas' stature.

"No," Roxas said flatly. "Anyway, if that's the case, then we'll just have to do our project in the library after school. How does this Friday sound?" The blond felt himself becoming slowly more annoyed, because it was clear from Axel's expression and the fact that he was leaning on his elbow, that he was no longer invested in the conversation. "Hey, are you even listening?"

"What's that? Sorry, your face is just so distracting," he grinned sleepily.

"Wha—"

"Axel and Roxas," called the snide voice that belonged to Vexen, "The anatomical feature you shall be researching is…" Vexen ran his finger down the list on his clipboard, "Ah, the heart."

After plenty of bull shit from Axel, Roxas had finally established a time and place at which they would meet to work on their assignment. Now it was time for lunch and Roxas could not wait to get away from this guy and just kick back with his friends for half an hour.

"Gross," Kairi sighed, pushing what resembled a meatball around her Styrofoam lunch tray, "I forgot how bad school lunch was. She scrunched her eyes and mouth into a sour face, pushing the tray away from her. Not long did the unwanted food sit in the middle of the table before Pence swiped the tray and dumped its contents onto his own. He was hardly the picky eater.

"So how are every ones classes so far?" Olette asked with genuine interest. There were a couple of murmurs, but no one really answered the question. Pence was two engaged in his meal, Hayner was already off in detention for getting in his first fight with Seifer of the year, and Kairi was too busy staring daggers at Riku, who was attempting to get Sora to eat his vegetables.

Roxas being the only non-occupied one, decided to reply, "They've been alright," he said shrugging, "The teachers aren't all that great, but that's a given. Only thing out of the ordinary is that I've had a new student in each one of my classes."

Speaking of which, Roxas couldn't help but notice the students he spoke off from across the cafeteria, sitting at their own table. There was the giant from PE, Lexaeus, who looked just as stoic as he did the previous day. Face buried in a dictionary-sized book was Zexion, who seemed to be in a different world from the rest of them. Banging his utensils on the lunch table like a pair of drumsticks was Demyx, whose sight actually brought a grin to smile to Roxas' face. There was another guy sitting with them whom Roxas didn't recognize. He was tall with long pink hair and wore an expression that seemed somehow both superior and flirtatious. But what caught the curious blonde's eye was the fact that like the rest of them, he was wearing black. Were they in some sort of gang or something? Considering that and the facts that they all transferred from the same school and were all friends, there had to be some sort of connection.

Roxas didn't know how long he had been staring, but it was apparently long enough to catch the attention of whom, you ask? Yeah, it was Axel. That damn redhead was once again staring Roxas down like a lion watching its prey.

Quickly turning away from Axel's stare Roxas continued to make small talk with Olette. Even during lunch, he couldn't escape that guy. Why was he messing with Roxas so much? Saying all of that weird crap, and talking to him like he was a girl to be hit on. What had he done to deserve this harassment? Before he could ponder the social cruelties of high school any longer, the bell rang; signaling the end of lunch.

The remainder of the day went by pretty quickly; history and English were two subjects that Roxas didn't mind that much, plus the teachers didn't suck. And to top it all off, Hayner was in both of the classes with Roxas, so all was good.

Now on his way home, Roxas had already parted ways with his friends whom had made their turns into their specific housing developments. He had his cheap MP3 player blasting in his ears and was checking out the view. Twilight Town wasn't much, but when the sun was setting, the town was painted a beautiful, yet sad orange. Everything looked so nostalgic. As for the sky, you couldn't find a more enchanting sight anywhere. Pinks, oranges, and sometimes even red, painted the wispy, fleeting clouds. No matter how long you've lived here, it never got old.

The familiarity of Roxas' usual route home vanished instantaneously, as he felt a sudden grip take hold of his arm and pull him into the narrow alley that separated the nearest townhouses. Upon entering the shadowed passage, he was released.

Roxas yanked his headphones from his ears and tried to speak, "What the he—"

He was cut off by finger placed in front of his mouth. Eyes now adjusted to the light, the confused and flustered boy could make out the person-scratch that-people in front of him; Zexion, Demyx, Lexaeus, and the pink-haired guy who's name was not yet known to Roxas. Judging by their postures and expressions, they meant business.

"Shit," Roxas muttered under his breath, figuring that his assumption about them had been right; they were in a gang, and now he was going to get mugged, or worse. "Look, I don't have anything worth stealing," the blond said defensively with raised hands. They looked at him funny.

Demyx was the first to speak. "What?" he asked; expression contorted as if he were trying to figure out a complex math problem.

"He thinks we're robbing him," Zexion tilted his head in Demyx's direction, "Please excuse Lexaeus' forceful nature, he can only hold back so much." The shortest of the group spoke formally, like he was at a business meeting.

"Honestly, Demyx, sometimes I question your intelligence." This voice, unfamiliar to Roxas, came from the pink-haired one. He spoke eloquently, as if he were of some outdated nobility. "You must admit, this seems a tad suspicious."

Demyx threw his hands in the air, "How was I supposed to know?!"

"Marluxia," Zexion began, "Please try to be more sensible to Demyx's feelings. You know he is…sensitive."

So his name was Marluxia.

Demyx continued to throw his fit, "_Sensitive_?! What is _that _supposed to mean?!"

"And you're telling _me _to be the sensible one," Marluxia stuck his tongue out at Zexion.

The three continued to bicker on, while Lexaeus stood silent with folded arms, staring off elsewhere. Roxas was puzzled. It was as if they had completely forgotten he was there. What _was_ this? After enduring about two minutes of their back-and-forth quarrel, Roxas finally decided to intervene, "Hey," no effect, "Hey, guys," still nothing, "HEY!"

The three looked up in surprise at Roxas; confused as to what might have caused the blonde to raise his voice to such a degree. Zexion, who appeared to be taking a leadership role, responded, "Yes, Roxas?"

"What the _hell_ do you guys want?!" Roxas burst out, fed up with these charades.

"Right, of course," said Zexion, collecting himself, "Roxas, we wanted to speak with you about Axel."

"Hmm?" Roxas let out, "What about that jackass?"

"We have noticed as of recently that…" Zexion trailed off, searching for the most appropriate word.

"That what?"

"Well…he…" the boy who had been talking so calm and astutely just a couple of minutes ago continued to struggle to convey his message.

"Oh for God's sake," Marluxia impatiently jumped in, "Axel _likes _you, Roxas," with hands on his hips, Marluxia grinned triumphantly at Zexion, "Now was that so hard, Zexy?"

"Firstly, do _not _call me 'Zexy'," the slate haired stiff began, obviously holding back his temper, "Secondly, I thought a more subtle approach would have proved more effective."

"Well it's too late now, book worm," he said mockingly, "The truth is out."

Roxas scratched his head, flustered by this entire situation. Axel _liked _him? Like in a romantic way? No, that wouldn't make sense, they were both guys and Axel hardly seemed gay. Then in a friendly way? But that wouldn't make sense either, considering how much of a dick he had been to Roxas since the day they met, excluding the night before school started. And why would his friends have to pull Roxas aside in such a confrontational manner just to tell him this? Nothing was making sense.

"Look," said Zexion, "Axel is our friend and we simply wanted to tell you this because we don't want to see him hurt again."

"What do you mean _again_?" Roxas inquired.

Zexion dismissed his question with a wave of his hand, "That is none of your concern."

Before Roxas could protest or ask another question, the group had already turned around and began their retreat into the darkness.

Still lost in the bizarreness of the last ten or so minutes, Roxas brushed himself off and emerged from the alley. After a few more blocks, he made it home. Kneeling over the front porch to the town house, he snuck his hand beneath the welcome mat to retrieve the house key. He opened the door and before closing it behind him, returned the key to its hiding place.

The drab kitchen cluttered and decorated with non-complimentary colors was, to Roxas' surprise, empty. Roxas hung his messenger bag on his designated chair at the kitchen table and picked up a slip of paper that sat at his place.

_Roxas,_

_Your father and I went out for the evening and Namine is spending the night at a friend's. Dinner is in the oven. _

_Mom_

Roxas shrugged. After helping himself to dinner, he took his bag upstairs to do some homework.

Roxas' room was, like the rest of his room, nothing special. The walls were white, unevenly covered with promotional flyers for local bands and pictures of him and his friends. His twin bed lay in the corner and in the corner parallel, was his desk. About to lower the blinds of his single window, he couldn't help but take a moment to admire the town's breathtaking view.

Twilight Town's most unique landmark was the old Clock tower. A large analog clock between two inactive brass bells made for a beautiful sight, especially at sunset. There was beneath the clock, a ledge; Roxas had always wanted to go up there, but Cloud had told him at a young age that no one was permitted.

The blond teen sighed and threw himself onto his back, allowing his mattress to cushion his fall with a squeak of protest. An overwhelming sense of fatigue ran through Roxas' being. It hadn't necessarily been a long day, though it _had _been eventful. He really should have done some homework, but before he could contemplate the idea further, the shutters that shielded his eyes fell.

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**Again, thanks for reading! I hope to pick up the pace a bit, perhaps the next chapter will be out in a month? Fingers crossed!**


	4. A Startling Development

**Would you look at that! Updated in less than a month! Please, hold your applause :) I wanted to get this done before I ran off to London for spring break. Fair warning: There's a line from the game in this chapter and it's really cliche, but I couldn't help myself. Enjoy!**

* * *

The rest of the week pretty much resembled what the second day of school had been like, except for Roxas' curious encounter with all of the new students after school. Now it was 3:00 pm on Friday, and Roxas had to meet with his least favorite person so they could work on their anatomy project.

Weary from his first week back at Twilight High, Roxas took his time in walking to the school library; the designated meeting place that he and Axel had agreed upon.

"Hey, Roxas," shouted Hayner's voice from behind, "Let's go grab some ice cream, Pence is buying!"

Roxas turned and put his hands in his pockets, addressing his best friend, "Sorry man, I've gotta stay after school to work on my anatomy project." He really wanted to go, but Roxas begrudgingly knew that school came first.

"That sucks," Hayner said disappointed, "Don't worry, I'll eat one for you."

"Oh, thanks!" the two laughed, performed their signature hand shake, which actually didn't involve hands at all, and parted ways.

Now slightly more encouraged, Roxas strode with more pep towards his destination. This pep was swiftly lost. To his dismay, the large double doors of the library that usually remained propped open were sealed shut. He reached for the handle, turned, and pulled. But the door would not budge. Roxas pressed his face against the window of the right door. The lights were off and the room was vacant.

"Damn it," Roxas muttered. He reached for his phone so that he could tell Axel not to come. Only he didn't have Axel's number. So he would have to wait for the devil to show up. Tired of standing after five minutes, Roxas slumped to the ground and pulled out his MP3 player. After selecting a slow song by _Neoshadow_, Roxas continued to scan the halls for his lab partner.

The gentle melodies tugged at Roxas' mind, beckoning it to shut down, and to give in to sleep. He cranked up the volume, which only delayed the inevitable a couple seconds more.

He was awakened by a gentle kick in the side. The blond instantly jumped up and shouted, "Where the _hell_ have you been?" Roxas' lowered his voice after remembering that Axel was much taller than him, "Your half an hour late!"

Axel rubbed the back of his head and stretched, as if was the one who had just been sleeping. "I'd be more apologetic if the library wasn't closed, _Roxas." _He was pretty nonchalant, but there was always room for sarcasm. The way he said Roxas' name made the blond shiver inside. "So that being the case, why were you waiting for me, hmm?"

Roxas made a short noise in the back of his throat, taken aback by the question. Why _was _he waiting for Axel? It's not like they would be able to get any work done with the library closed, and there was nowhere else for them to work. Roxas didn't have a computer and Axel's place was under construction. He straightened his back, put on what felt like an indifferent expression, and said, "I just thought I'd be considerate and tell you we can't work today."

"Well how considerate of you!" Axel cried in mock jubilation. The redhead swung his arm around Roxas' shoulder and started to walk them down the hallway. Roxas would have stayed put, but Axel's strength was surprising and he didn't want to fall over. "Let me make it up to you then!"

"That's really not necessary," Roxas mumbled. God, he just wanted to go home.

"Nonsense, we're going out, my treat!"

After being dragged out of school and a couple of blocks, Roxas finally gave in and walked along side Axel by his own free will. It wasn't like he had anything better to do on a Friday night. Oh wait, yes there freaking was! He could have been out with his friends eating ice cream. But fighting Axel was pointless, he had height _and_ strength over the scrawny blond. "So where are we going?" he asked.

"Roxas, Roxas, Roxas," Axel lectured, "What fun would it be if I simply _told _you where we're going? I think it will be much more memorable if I were to _show_ you. Wouldn't you agree?"

The fact that Axel wouldn't tell Roxas where they were going made him wary. Any normal person wouldn't withhold such trivial information. "Can you at least tell me how _long_ we'll be there?" Roxas asked with a voice not yet void of hostility.

"We'll have to see where the evening takes us," Axel chuckled.

After about ten minutes of walking in silence, Axel stopped, "Well, we're here!" he said with arms raised, inviting Roxas to take it all in. But it wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

"This is the train station," Roxas put flatly, "If you think I'm getting on a train with you then forget it."

"Roxas, you wound me!" Axel said dramatically with hands over his heart. He laughed at his own jest, "Come on, I think you'll like what I'm about to show you."

Roxas sighed and followed the redhead into the station, not knowing what to expect. Once they were inside, Axel looked left and right, just to make sure no one was around to see. Why he needed to be sneaky about this, Roxas hadn't the faintest idea.

"Pssst," Axel called in a loud whisper, "Come on, before anyone shows up!" He waived Roxas over towards a door that read: _Employees Only._

Roxas ran over and eyed the door. "No," he said shaking his head, "I'm not breaking the law for you to show me-hell I still don't know what you want to show me!" Axel grinned. Quickly, he kicked the door open, grabbed Roxas by the arm and pulled him through. Now Axel was running up several flights of rustic stairs with the helpless blond trailing bond, unable to free himself from his captors vice. "Axel, slow down!" Roxas protested over the clanging of their footsteps on the aged steel.

Axel made no sign of slowing his ascension up the never-ending stairwell. "Just a little further," he said over his shoulder; it was hardly reassuring. There were no lights on, so Roxas had to trust Axel's sense of direction, which was easier said than done. There was a faint stream of light that Roxas could barely make out. Gradually it began to widen, until finally with a deafening bang the two burst through a door and stopped abruptly in their tracks.

Roxas' voice caught. It was beautiful. The entirety of Twilight Town spanned before them. "Wh-where are we?" Roxas asked in bewilderment.

Axel shot him a smile. But this wasn't his cocky, condescending smile that Roxas was familiar with. It was genuine. He looked happy. "Look up," he said softly in a tone that was just as foreign as his expression.

Roxas found himself complying without thought. Several feet above the two students was the town clock, massive, in all of its glory. Roxas' eyes widened and he snapped his head back down to look at Axel, "The Clock Tower!" he shouted in amazement, "How did you know?!" Roxas face reddened after hearing his voice echo over the town.

Axel tilted his head, confused, "What do you mean?"

Roxas mentally kicked himself. As if Axel would know how badly he wanted to come up here. And another kick for lowering his defenses in front of the red devil. "Nevermind," Roxas said shortly, acting as if he didn't just freak out like a kid on Christmas.

Axel shrugged it off and sat himself in the space between the wall and the raised ledge, legs propped up casually. "I come up here whenever I wanna clear my head, ya know?" Nostalgia weighed heavily in his voice, like he was reflecting. "You won't find a better view of the sunset anywhere else."

He patted the aged stone surface, inviting Roxas to sit beside him. Normally, Roxas would try to avoid being near Axel at all times, but look where he was now. He walked over with a hand against the wall for balance. "Nasty fall, eh?" Axel said, referring to the staggering drop just a couple feet away. Roxas nodded, not sure what to contribute to the conversation.

"Hey Roxas," Axel said, staring longingly towards the multi-colored horizon, "Bet you don't know why the sun sets red." Roxas blinked where was _this _coming from? " You see, light is made up of all sorts of colors, and out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest."

Roxas turned his head towards Axel, who in turn did the same, "Like I asked, know-it-all."

Axel began to laugh. It was lighthearted and unfortunately for Roxas, who wanted to maintain a disposition of indifference, it was contagious. Despite his best efforts, Roxas felt invisible strings start to pull at the corners of his mouth. And the floodgates were opened.

Both students now echoed fits of laughter across the town. Another mental kick. Why? Why was he happy around this guy? Just half an hour ago Roxas had been convinced that he _loathed_ Axel. Now they were sharing laughs? But this wasn't the same Axel who messed with him whenever the opportunity arose. This was someone else, it had to be. They settled down and silence swept back over.

This time, Roxas was the one to break it, "So I've been wondering," Axel tore his gaze from the sunset, surprised that his prisoner was initiating a converstation. "You and your friends all transferred together, right?"

Axel's smile fell into a straight line, "Who told you that?"

"Huh?" Roxas said involuntarily, suddenly nervous by Axel's change in demeanor, "Um…it was Demyx," Axel's face twitched, making Roxas more spastic, "B-but he didn't say anything else," he said with hands up defensively. It looked like he struck a nerve.

Axel's slightly furrowed brow returned to normal. Assuming it was once again safe, Roxas continued to probe, "So, why _did_ you all come together?"

Axel took a deep breath, "Look Roxas," he said calmly, but still serious, "That's really none of your concern."

Roxas, not satisfied with Axel's response, continued on, "What did you get expelled or something?"

"Roxas…"

"I mean really, it couldn't have been _that_ bad."

"Roxas, drop it."

The blond was starting to get pissed. Axel had done whatever he so pleased to Roxas ever since they met, but he couldn't answer a simple question? He wasn't even that curious anymore, Roxas just wanted the satisfaction of beating Axel's will and getting it out of him.

"And another thing," Roxas persisted, "Why do you all where black? Are you guys part of a cult or something?!" His last sentence, Roxas realized, sounded snide and nasty. How would Axel respond?

Axel's emerald eyes gleamed with fury. He darted forward, pushing Roxas onto his back, pinning his arms to the ground. Roxas waited for the first punch.

His eyes widened as a pair of lips was forced upon his own. What the hell?! What was he _doing_?! Roxas writhed beneath Axel trying to escape his dominance.

Finally lifting his lips from Roxas', Axel spoke, "Roxas," he said coolly, "We've hardly reached the point in our relationship where I'm comfortable sharing that information. Let's take it _slow_." He smirked at the stupefied blond beneath him. His cocky, sarcastic air had returned. So was this just another joke?!

The confused blond pushed his attacker off of him and began to run.

"Roxas!" Axel called after him, but he had already rounded the corner and begun to descend the stairwell.

Roxas kept an open palm hovering over the rustic hand rail as he quickly ran down the stairwell. He could still feel his face flushed red and that only added more to his emotional distress. Multiple thoughts rushed frantically through his mind at a pace that made grasping any of them impossible. He burst through the door at the foot of the stairwell out into the station's main lobby.

"Hey, kid!" someone called accusingly from behind. Roxas turned to see a security guard approaching him quickly, "What we're you doing in there? Can't you read the sign?!"

Roxas panicked and bolted out the main entrance, leaving the guard behind who thankfully did not give chase.

The sun had now set completely, casting the town in darkness, only to be penetrated by the by the street lamps outside. Roxas sat on his bed with his MP3 blaring the frantic melodies of _Dark Thorn _in an attempt to render his senses useless so he wouldn't be able to think about Axel. But it was futile. He could still feel the searing heat that the redhead had left on Roxas' lips.

Roxas turned over and screamed into his pillow. He wouldn't be freaking out so much if he was simply disgusted by Axel's action, but the fact that it made his head spin had him going insane. He had never once questioned his sexuality before. Hell, he had dated Olette once! Though, he had to admit, his heart hadn't really been in it. Roxas threw his pillow against the wall and it made contact with an unsatisfyingly soft thump.

He hated Axel for making him feel this way. He hated him for taking up such a large space in his mind, even if it were negative. Axel had invaded his life, no doubt. He thought back to the other day.

"_Oh for God's sake," Marluxia impatiently jumped in, "Axel likes you, Roxas," with hands on his hips, Marluxia grinned triumphantly at Zexion, "Now was that so hard, Zexy?"_

So that's what he had meant. No, it couldn't have been! Roxas cursed his luck for the misery this one boy had brought him. Tired of worrying over the subject, Roxas threw himself into his homework, furiously writing down answers with a heavy hand.

There was a knock on the door. "Roxas," Namine called, "It's time for Dinner," she sounded happy as ever, which pissed Roxas off further, though he knew that it was unreasonable to want everyone to be miserable with him when he had a problem. Regardless, he was in no mood to see or talk to another person.

Roxas did his best to mask his voice of stress, "I'm not hungry, think I'm coming down with something." He feigned a cough for the finishing touch.

"Oh, alright then," Namine said softly, "Feel better."

Roxas listened for his sister's footsteps to fade before he let out a long sigh. What a mess. At least he had the weekend ahead of him; an entire weekend to think about what _he _had done. On second thought, maybe that wasn't the greatest thing.

_There was warmth. No, it was heat; unbearable heat emanated from another body which Roxas was latched onto desperately. The identity of the body was shrouded in the darkness. They exchanged kisses and tender words devoid of pitch. _

_With a great whoosh, a blistering fire ignited and revealed the scene. Jade, predator-like eyes looked down at Roxas, hungry. He attempted to scream, but the fire that danced atop Axel's head smothered the oxygen and dried the terrified blond's throat._

_The fire grew hotter and hotter. To his horror, the flesh of Axel's and his own skin, were melting, pooling together into a viscous stew. Fighting the suffocated air, Roxas let out a final cry, tearing away at his throat._

Roxas jolted violently from his slumber, covered in a cold sweat. He was still sitting at his desk, but looking out his window, he could tell it was the next morning. Still haunted by his hellish night terror, Roxas glanced down at his skin. Good, it was still there.

Realizing his cloths stuck to his skin, Roxas got up and headed for the bathroom. He needed to rinse off. Surprisingly, it was not occupied by Namine. Then again, it _was _Saturday, and she loved to make every second of the weekend count. Knowing her, she was probably at the outlet mall with her friends by now.

Shucking off his dirty cloths, Roxas stepped into the shower and reached for the red knob on the left. He paused, thinking about his dream, and reached for the blue knob instead. A stream of brisk, chilled water cascaded over the teenager, flattening his blond spikes in front of his eyes.

The cold water felt refreshing, as if it were washing away the damage of his imaginary burns. And with the burns went the dream all together. Now in a much chipper mood, Roxas hopped out of the icy water and reached for his towel. He dried himself off and approached his side of the sink where an assortment of hair products sat. This was something he always got a lot of flak for.

Hair dried and styled to perfection, Roxas walked out of the hall with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Whoops," Aerith said giggling upon seeing her half-naked son, "Sorry sweety!" Like Namine, she was always cheery. It was fortunate that they had a stern man like Cloud living there to balance things out. "Namine's out at the outlets and your father is out on some errands. What are _you _doing today?"

"Mom," Roxas laughed, "Let me put some cloths on first." She was a trip.

Roxas chuckled lightly as he closed his bedroom door lightly behind him. His mother was, in the nicest way possible, such an airhead. But it was her loftiness that kept him sane in times of stress and trial. It was like Aerith had a constant mantra: Everything is going to be just fine.

Roxas stuck his head out his large, two-doored window. After only a few seconds of exposure to the outdoors, he began to sneeze. It looked like it was getting cold earlier this year. Quickly he closed the window and hopped down from his bed over to his dresser. The blond hated the cold, bar the shower he just took; that was necessary. He hated the way it chapped his lips and dried his skin. Rifling through items of clothing that were in no way organized or folded properly, Roxas selected his favorite black _Heartless_ hoodie and a faded pair of jeans.

Like nails on a chalkboard, Roxas' phone vibrated violently against his wooden desk. He shot his hand out to relieve himself of the irritating sound. He answered, "Hello?" It was a rare occurrence that his friends actually called him; texting usually sufficed.

"Hello, Roxas," answered a voice that he had hardly expected to hear, "I heard what happened last night." It was Zexion.

Roxas' face reddened at the thought. He had gone a good hour without thinking about it and now the recollection would once again plague his mind for probably the rest of the day. "Um, hey…what's up?" Roxas asked unsteadily.

"I'm calling about Axel, as I'm sure you can imagine."

"Right…" Roxas said. This really wasn't something he was comfortable discussing with anyone, let alone Zexion, someone he hardly knew.

"I completely understand if you're a bit shaken up," Zexion continued, "Axel often acts hastily in his romantic advances."

Roxas stammered. Romantic advances? That meant he _had_ been serious.

"I simply want you to keep an open mind. Do not allow this one incident to deter you from speaking with Axel again."

"Um…sure." Roxas said without thinking. What was he _supposed _to say?

"Thank you for your time," Zexion concluded formally, "Enjoy your weekend."

There was a click on the other end. That had to have been the most backward, upside-down phone-call that Roxas had ever participated in. The flustered teen threw himself onto his bed, face-down in the pillow. Now he didn't feel like doing anything.

To his annoyance, Roxas' phone buzzed yet again, the audible vibrations harshly clanging against his mind. He crossed his fingers as he reached for the infernal device. Please, don't let it be one of _them_. The miniscule screen on the outside of the phone read: _Pence. _With a great sigh of relief, he flipped open his phone to read the message it held:

_Hey, meet at the usual spot in 10. Olette's buying ice cream!"_

Roxas grinned at the fact that Pence had felt it necessary to mention that last part. It usually took around eight minutes to get there, so Roxas pocketed his phone and headed out the door. Lightly, he trotted down the carpeted staircase towards the front door.

"Roxas, where are you headed?" Aerith called from the kitchen in between coughs. She must've been getting a cold or something.

"Out to see the gang," he said without slowing, "Don't wait up," he called behind him before shutting the door. The cold winds were no kinder than they had been when he had stuck his head out his bedroom window. He hugged himself tightly, trying to compress the baggy hoody so it would stick closely to his skin and provide warmth. But to no avail.

Hands in pockets, he jogged towards his destination in order to get out of the cold as soon as he could. He passed by many of his classmates as he made his commune. Everyone was outside trying to take advantage of their Saturdays before they would have to spend their Sundays sulking and procrastinating their homework. Roxas would know; he did the same.

After ascending the small slope of a cobblestone hill, Roxas took a left to the shady-looking ally where the familiar, ratty, green tarp hung loosely. Had he ignored the turn and gone straight, he would have reached Station Heights, where the train station was. And the clock tower. He blushed and scowled, trying not to follow the train of thought that the clock tower evoked. He was _not _going to think about _that. _And he was _not _going to think about _him._ Or so he thought.

"'Bout time you showed up," was what Roxas heard right before he got hit in the face with a beach ball. His brow twitched and his scowl remained as he glared at an amused Hayner laughing his ass off. Roxas picked up the ball and threw it from where it had come, catching Hayner off guard who's eyes had been too scrunched up to see it coming. "Damn Roxas, what's got your panties in a knot?" Hayner continued to laugh at Roxas' obvious distress.

"Hey," Olette called from the old couch, "Something wrong, Roxas? Your face is all red." Her expression was one of worry; eyes wide and mouth drooping ever slightly.

Roxas felt the blush deepen at the mention of it. "Just had a rough night," he said. This wasn't necessarily a lie. "And my face is red because it's so cold out." He wished his voice didn't have a defensive edge to it. Hayner, Pence, and Olette all looked at him like he had three heads. "What?"

"It's not _that _cold out," Pence said, "It's like 60 degrees fairenheight."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, Rox," Hayner chimed in, "Why do you think we're all still wearing shorts?"

Olette giggled, "You must be sensitive Roxas," He made an exasperated noise as he slumped into the empty space on the couch next to Olette. "Did you not sleep well?"

"Something like that," Roxas muttered. It was as if they knew he had something to hide and were trying to pry it out of him.

"So how'd your Anatomy project go?" Hayner asked.

Roxas' eyes widened, "What?!"

"Um…your Anatomy project?" Hayner said cautiously, alarmed by Roxas' sudden outburst, "You know, the one you ditched ice cream for? Are you sure your all right man?"

They were all giving him that look again; like he was speaking in foreign tongues. It wasn't his fault that everything they mentioned pertained to last night! Then again, it wasn't theirs either. Why couldn't this go away? He needed to clear his head. Any more time spent with his friends would surely lead to the destruction of his defenses. And then who knows what would happen? How they would react? No doubt Hayner would set out to wage war against Axel and the rest of the new students. He couldn't have that.

Roxas stood up and spoke, "I think I may be coming down with something," using the same excuse twice within the last 24 hours? Smooth. "I think I'll head home and rest up." He didn't like lying to them. But what choice did he have? Any chance of a normal Saturday had been lost.

"Well ok," Pence started, voice filled with concern, like the rest of them, "Feel better."

Roxas nodded, "Right." The current situation aside, he was so lucky to friends like these. Even though they spent most of their time goofing off, they were a family; always looking out for each other.

The walk home felt just as cold, if not colder than the walk to the usual spot. From the direction the wind was blowing, Roxas' hair was pushed into his eyes, obstructing his view. But trying to push it out of his face was pointless, as the relentless breeze would blow it back the moment he put his hand back in his pocket. So he just dealt with it. He knew the streets well enough, though he hadn't taken other people using those them into consideration.

"Walking home alone?"

His blood froze. That voice. It almost sounded like-but it didn't. It wasn't mocking. Neutral, actually, if not a little repentant. Roxas turned around reluctantly. He was right though. It _was _him, standing only a couple feet away. "Axel…" it didn't come out angry as Roxas thought it would. In fact it was devoid of anger. Rather, it was soft and distant. Time seemed to stop as a silence ensued. The only piece of reality remaining was the wind.

Though his view was blocked off by his blond spikes, Roxas could hardly see through them enough to see Axel's general outline. But his voice rang clear, "I'm sorry."

"What?" Roxas wondered if he was hearing correctly because never, not ever, would Axel utter something so genuine, _especially_ not in the form of an apology.

"I'm sorry." Axel repeated. "I'm sorry for last night. What I did back there…"

He really _was_ apologizing. There was almost a sadness in his voice, something that Roxas had never heard before. He thought that one week of torture was all he needed to know that Axel was a cocky jerk who didn't care about anything. He thought that had summed it all up. But now Axel was disproving his hypothesis; tearing down all of Roxas' presumptions.

Axel rubbed the back of his head; a habit that Roxas was beginning to pick up on. "I got caught up in emotions and did something that was unacceptable." The wind died down, releasing Roxas from his blindness. Regret and self-torment riddled the redhead's face. Dark bags hung beneath his eyes, indicating that he hadn't slept well either. "I…" he turned his head and scowled. "I'd understand if you'd want to request a change in lab partners."

Roxas remembered back to his phone call with Zexion; remembered how Zexion had told him to give Axel a second chance. In any other situation, he would tell Axel to get lost, but the circumstances were too unusual. He actually felt bad for the redhead. It was clear by his voice and his disposition that this was affecting him just as bad as it was Roxas. "No." the blond said firmly.

Axel shot his head up, eyes wide. "What?

"I'm not changing lab partners." Roxas started, "And as for that other stuff…" Roxas thought back, once again, to the previous evening. The heat, the pressure, though it was all still very real, it bothered him less. "I forgive you."

Axel's amazement was still present. Had he gone looking for Roxas to make an apology thinking it would be shot down? What would lead him to think that way? "You…forgive me?"

Roxas nodded, "But don't think I'm ok with that sort of thing," he asserted with authority, "I'm willing to move on from that so we can get along like normal people and ace that anatomy assignment."

Axel approached him, reducing the distance between the two significantly. He towered over Roxas, who still refused to meet his gaze. The stubborn boy was hardly expecting a firm embrace. Enwrapped in Axel's arms with his own confided to his sides, Roxas couldn't wriggle free. Axel whispered, "Thanks, Roxas."

He released Roxas who now shot daggers towards his upperclassman, who in turn, grinned, eyes once again gleaming with mischief and amusement. It was as if it _had_ been a moment out of time. Axel walked past Roxas making his way to wherever his destination may have been. "See ya in class, Roxy."

Roxas twitched at the nickname. He was more confused than ever. This guy, whom he had only known for a week, had come careening out of the sky like an airplane into Roxas' world. No doubt, Axel would continue to wreak his special brand of bi-polar havoc upon his life for many months to come.

* * *

**I had a lot of fun writing this one and I would love to know what you guys think, so please review. I've started to carry a notebook around with me, which is why this chapter was uploaded so uncharacteristically soon. I plan on taking my notebook to London with me so I can keep at it, and maybe get some inspiration. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Happy Halloween

**Here's Chapter 5! I wanted to get this written sooner, but April was a pretty hectic month. Wah wah wah, I know. Anyway, I'm going to start using these lines (look bellow the message in bold) as an indicator for the passing of time. Just a heads up so nobody gets confused. I didn't exactly find inspiration in London, but this is still, in my mind, my best-written chapter so far. Enjoy!**

* * *

"No way in _hell_ am I going," Hayner shouted defiantly, swinging his arms dangerously close to the lunch trays beside him, "You can absolutely forget it!"

"Aw, come on Hayner," Pence whined, "Seifer's parties are legendary! Can't you put your beef with him aside just this once?"

It was Halloween day and Seifer was throwing his annual costume party at his slightly above-average town-house. Roxas, along with Pence, Olette, Sora, Riku and Kairi, wanted to go. But Hayner' eternal grudge match with Seifer was making things difficult.

The stubborn punk held strong, "No and do you know why?" he asked rhetorically, "It's because my attendance would make me _his guest_! It's _his _turf and _he_ has the advantage."

"You know, you could always _not _fight him." Roxas suggested, knowing how ridiculous it sounded to his friend.

"Yeah, and Pence could _not_ eat ice cream all the time," Hayner countered, "But you don't see _that _happening."

"I heard that." Pence said.

"You were meant to."

Sora abandoned his game of tic-tac-toe with Riku to give his input, "But if you don't go, wouldn't that mean you'd be backing down?"

"Then he'd have yet another victory to hold over your head." Riku chimed in.

"Plus there'll be girls in sexy costumes." Kairi added with mischief in her voice. She would know. She was one of the many girls who wore revealing costumes-if you could even call them costumes-to these parties.

"There might even be a backyard struggle tournament," Roxas offered with a grin. He knew that it was an unlikely event but he also knew that just the possibility would be the straw that broke Hayner's back.

Slamming his fist down on the table, Hayner finally gave in to popular demand, "Fine, but if shit goes down, you gotta have my back," he said, pointing at Roxas accusingly. He nodded in return. He wasn't afraid of a little scrap.

"It's settled then!" Olette clapped her hands in satisfaction, "We're all going!"

* * *

Roxas swung open his closet doors and began mining through his miscellaneous pile of clothes in the corner. He wasn't sure what he planned on dressing up as this year. He usually just pieced together different clothing items, since the party store charged as high as 5,000 munny for the simplest of costumes.

Baggy pants, button-up shirt bandana; he could be a pirate. He shrugged and continued to rifle. He shuddered as he picked up one of Namine's sundresses. His face reddened as he remembered back to the bet he had lost with Hayner freshman year. He dropped it back into the pile, pushing that memory towards the back of his mind. Never again.

Bowtie, black slacks, jacket; double agent? He texted Olette for her opinion.

_Definitely double agent, the ladies will eat it up ;)_

Pirate it is. He knew she meant well, but the last thing on Roxas' mind was romantics, especially after that incident with Axel about two months ago, though tensions between them _had_ lowered a little. Axel had actually displayed diligence when they worked on their anatomy project, which they aced. Roxas was also becoming more tolerable of the redhead's sarcastic remarks and dick-like mannerisms.

He stood in front of the ornate mirror on the back of his door; an antique handed down from his grandparents that, like a lot of furniture in the Strife household, didn't match any sort of decorative theme. The baggy green pants were full of holes and his shirt was pretty wrinkled. Perfect. He grabbed the bandana he had set aside on his desk and tightened it around his head. Many of his blond spikes fell out from underneath the headdress, which made it look less dorky.

His phone vibrated from-where was it coming from? Roxas looked around for a couple minutes until he heard it again. He slapped his hand on his forehead and returned to the depths of his closet. Reaching into the random cloths pile he withdrew the piece of plastic and flipped it open.

_Meet at 6:15_

Roxas glanced over at his bedside clock. It was just like Hayner to give him a five minute's notice before they were supposed to meet. Roxas frantically finished putting on his costume and ran out the door.

* * *

The lawn was already littered with countless bottles and cups. Several groups of people in their costumes congregated around pieces of furniture that had been removed from the house.

"Whoa!" Pence exclaimed, his voice muffled behind his rubber monster mask, "This party is crazy!"

The setting sun cast everything it touched in a surreal light. That and the Halloween costumes and booming music; it was already incredibly disorienting.

"Let's check it out!" Olette suggested, jumping up and down in excitement, her golden arm-bands jingling together. She was Cleopatra for the evening. Roxas was hesitant, he'd been to his fair share of parties, but never one of this magnitude.

"Fine," Hayner said stubbornly with arms crossed, still upset that he had given in to his friends pleas. The battle-ready blond straightened the shoulder pads of his old football uniform; a costume with less effort behind it than Roxas'. It was obvious that Hayner wore it because he thought it made him look tough. And it kind of did. "Here we go."

The rest of the gang snickered at their overly dramatic friend. They knew that none of the conflicts involving Seifer ever called for the amount of seriousness that Hayner brought to the table. No one ever left a fight with anything worse than a black eye, and that happened rarely.

Olette wrung the doorbell. Though it may have been broken, for it was impossible to hear anything over the deafening wall of music this close to the source. Hayner's impatience, at least to Roxas, was incredibly blatant. He had never seen a brow so furrowed or a foot tapping so fast. He broke down and banged on the door at a rapid pace.

"Heeeey!" The door swung open with a very inebriated super hero wobbling around in the frame, empty red solo cup in hand. "Paaaarteh!" he slurred before he fell over. They stepped over the smashed doorman and entered the madness. A mass of unrelated monsters, idols, athletes and animals frothed back and forth to the unwavering beat of the trance music that shook the house.

"Hey!" called a scantily dressed bunny rabbit from the base of the staircase. Roxas' eyes widened. He did not think it possible that Kairi would outdo her costume from last year. But this was borderline obscene. He fought the urge to shield his eyes, for he didn't particularly want to _this_ much of his friend. "Sooo, whadda ya think?" she asked, making different poses. It was clear by the way she spoke that she had also been hitting the liquor.

He hesitated and looked around for one of his friends to save him. Except they no longer stood by his side. Some friends. "Um…" Roxas laughed, trying to find a way to wriggle out of this. He didn't think Kairi would appreciate his opinion and he wasn't going to lie to her. "It's…"

"Roxas!" sounded an unmistakable voice from behind him. Axel placed a hand on Roxas' shoulder, "It has been _too long_," he shot a quick wink down to the blond, "Sorry Kairi, but me and Roxy here simply _must_ catch up. I hope you won't mind me stealing him from you."

Kairi pouted, "But-"

"Sorry Kai, gotta go!" Roxas said quickly before grabbing Axel's arm and walking them away into the kitchen. In retrospect, being the source of all of the party's alcohol, it may not have been the smartest idea.

"Man, I really saved your ass back there," Axel hiccupped, "Didn't I?" Roxas had a suspicion that Axel might have been drunk as well.

Roxas nodded, "Yeah, thanks."

"Hmm?" the redhead raised an eyebrow, "Do my ears deceive me? Did I just receive a 'thanks' from the great and mighty Roxas Strife?! I am humbled! You are welcome, a thousand times welcome!"

"You're drunk."

"You're sober." Axel mirrored Roxas' tone and grinned like a child getting away with mischief. "You need to get your drink on, Roxy."

He was not enjoying the new nickname. "I don't drink."

"Everybody drinks."

"Not me." It was true. Sad, but true. Out of the plethora of parties he had attended throughout his high school career, Roxas had not once touched a bottle or a can. He had read too many articles and seen too many news reports about athletes and musicians succumbing to alcoholism. He had heard what it did to their lives; most ruined, if not over. So being both an athlete _and_ a musician, he stayed away from the world's most popular poison. It scared him.

"Roxas," Axel put both his hands on the blonde's shoulders, as if to shake him awake from a dream. His breath smelled like beer. "How much fun are you having at this party?"

Though he hated to admit it, Axel was right. This party was loud, obnoxious, and Roxas could tell there wasn't much to do besides stand around and scream over the speakers. "Not much."

"Exactly!" Axel flung his arms above his head. He reached over to the counter and grabbed an unopened beer. With a swift motion he snapped the cap off with his shirt and tossed it to Roxas, who was forced to catch it, less it fall to the ground and make even more of a mess. If that were possible.

He sniffed it and scowled. It held a repugnant stench reminiscent of urine. "It smells awful." He put plainly.

"Never mind the smell, Roxy," the tipsy redhead reassured, squeezing Roxas' cheeks like his grandmother did when she came to visit, "Just drink it and you'll feel a million times better."

Roxas was not enjoying that nickname any more than he had at the beginning of the year. It was demeaning, not to mention emasculating. He wanted so badly to just shut this guy up already. "Fine," he slapped away Axel's hands with his free one, "I'll drink if it gets you off my back."

God he pissed him off.

Forgetting his concerns, he brought the cold glass to his lips and took a sip. He squinted at the bitter, acrid taste. It had a chemical quality to it, like cough syrup or something. It took every bit of his will to keep it down.

Axel laughed heartily at the boy struggling with his first sip, "Come on, Roxy," he slapped him on the back, "Quit being such a drama queen and drink it like a man!"

Again with the emasculating comments. He _really _pissed him off. Roxas glared up at his tormentor with defiance and began to swallow more generous gulps until the bottle emptied.

Axel clapped his hands with a smug face that betrayed any genuine form of congratulations, "Now that's more like it!"

"Gemme anuther," Roxas slurred.

"And he's a lightweight," Axel concluded aloud, "No more for you, party-animal. Get out there and enjoy yourself." He proceeded to guide the blond into the living room where all of the dancing was taking place. With a final push, he propelled Roxas into the mass of ghoulish ravers.

It was an odd feeling, being drunk. Or at least he thought he was drunk. He felt lighter and more viscous, like he could melt through all of the other party-goers without collision. He'd never been one for dancing, but now that's all he wanted to do. The best part was it was so easy. He'd never been this loose and if felt great. The multicolored lights flashing from the ceiling only added to his euphoria; shining everyone in their Halloween guises into an even more peculiar light. This was incredible. The bass of the blaring music shook the room and everyone in it, creating a steady tempo at which to move.

Roxas didn't see any of his friends in the crowd, but maybe they were simply unrecognizable from behind their costumes. It was difficult to remember.

He found his fuzzy haze gradually begin to fade. Objects started to solidify and that warm carelessness was ebbing. Was it wearing off? He didn't want to lose this feeling. He was having too much fun.

On much more steady feet, he noticed, Roxas made his way back into the kitchen. Zexion and Demyx were in one of the corners leaning against the marble countertop. They both wore headbands with steel plates on the front. Roxas tried to remember where he'd seen those before. He walked over to the two upperclassmen, "Hey guys," he waved.

Were it only Zexion he was approaching, he probably would have had a more awkward air, but he felt pretty at ease with Demyx around. "How's it goin'?"

"Don't you mean 'argh matees'?" Demyx snickered, referring to Roxas' costume, "Get it? Cuz you're a PIRATE!" he burst out in hysterics, oblivious that he was the only one laughing.

Zexion sighed at his clearly wasted friend. "Hey Roxas," Zexion waved back, "Don't worry about Demyx, he's just had a tad much alcohol."

"Have not!" Demyx whined, "_You_ need a drink, Zexy," he poked Zexion in the stomach playfully, "You're _way _too uptight." He put his arm around Zexion whose face was actually gaining color.

"Alcohol kills brain cells, Demyx."

Roxas was surprised. Zexion didn't seem to show any sort of discomfort from Demyx's familiar intrusions. And he distinctly recalled him snapping at Marluxia for calling him Zexy. His normally astute and calculating expression was relaxed, maybe even a bit happy?

"Dus not! I got plenty," Demyx said pointing to his head.

"Anyway," Zexion said, ignoring Demyx's nonsensical complaints for a moment, "Did you need something?"

Roxas scratched his head, not sure how to put it. He really wasn't comfortable asking where he could find alcohol. It made him, in his head, sound like a drunkard. He didn't want people to see him that way, but at the same time, he wanted to get back out there on the 'dance floor' and resume that sensation. "Do you guys know if there's any booze left?" It hadn't sounded any better than it did in his head.

Demyx giggled and pulled a tall bottle from behind his back. "Shussshhh," he said to Roxas, unsuccessful in his attempts to be sneaky, "I got the last bottle," he giggled some more, "Don't tell Zexy."

"I'm right here." Zexion grabbed the battle from Demyx and gave it to Roxas, "Please keep this away from him, he's had _far_ too much."

"Have not!"

"Let's get you out of here," he kept Demyx's arm over his shoulder in order to keep him balanced, "See ya Roxas. Be careful with that stuff." The two walked out of the kitchen and towards the front door. Naruto. That's what it was.

Roxas shrugged. After glancing at the label, which was written in a font that was too intricate for his patience to withstand, he unscrewed the lid and took a swig. Now he knew why Zexion told him to be careful. This stuff was strong. The liquid scorched his throat as it made its descent into his stomach. But once it made it there-so warm. It was like he fad a stomach full of glowing embers. Dying to prolong this feeling, he took a second swig. Then a third. A fourth. After that-well he lost count after that.

Somehow he found himself back on the dance floor, flailing around with his fellow demons to the now frantically paced beats that spewed from the speakers in the corner of the living room. The lights were flashing faster as well. Everything was at an accelerated pace and everything felt a million times better than it had before. He rubbed up against countless bodies and they did the same in turn. He didn't care who they were.

He felt a hand grab his and pull him from the dense pit of teens onto a vacant couch. Someone stood above him, obstructing the playful lights from Roxas' eyes. Whoever the figure was, he or she was _way_ too blurry to identify. "Whaddya want?" He or she was interrupting his good time.

"Looks like you took my advice a little _too_ well." Axel. Even in his drunken stupor, Roxas could recognize that voice. "Come on. Let's get you some fresh air."

Axel had sobered up by now, as he was doing the walking for the both of them. He guided the two outside into the yard, which was surprisingly vacant. Roxas slid down onto the ground on the side of the house, not considering the possibility that his pants might get dirty. Axel joined him on his right, legs fully extended in front of him, one crossed over the other. "Ya know," Axel started, "I gotta hand it to you. I never thought you'd go this far. Judging by that bottle in your hand, you're gonna have quite the hangover in the morning."

Only about half of what he was saying was actually getting through to Roxas. And even that half held little meaning, only the sounds of the words were penetrating his euphoric state. He grumbled something to Axel. Something about him screwing himself. It sounded fine in his head, but it came out as little more than a gurgle.

"Ok, no more of that for you," Axel grabbed the bottle and threw it across the yard, where it landed in the grass with a soft thump. Roxas scowled. First he pulled him out of his zone and now he was taking away his sweet life energy. God damn did this guy just ruin everything. "You know you were pretty crazy back there, the life of the party if I might be so bold."

Exactly. So why was he keeping him from his subjects? He had an obligation to be back inside at the heart of the madness. He lifted one leg up and planted his foot firmly on the ground, as to provide leverage for the rest of his body. He placed his hands in the muddied earth as to begin his difficult journey back onto his feet.

Axel took notice of Roxas' efforts, "I wouldn't try that, Roxas," he warned, "Believe me, when you're this drunk, standing up is beyond your ability."

Shows what he knows. Anyone could stand up. And if anyone could, then so could Roxas, drunk or not. He bent his elbows and pushed, lifting his body up to standing position. Ha. Piece of ca-then his other foot hit the ground, his legs were now beneath his full weight, and they were hardly ready. They gave in, sending him spiraling back to the earth. But the earth didn't feel like this. Nor did the earth cry out when you fell on it. He looked up, only to meet a pair of widened green eyes. He was on top of Axel.

"R-Roxas," Axel stammered, "What are you doing?"

In any other scenario, Roxas would have leaped off this boy. He would have taken flight and made himself scarce. But not in _this_ scenario. His deep, emerald gaze, his fiery hair, even his mouth, soft and slightly parted-it was all too inviting. Everything beyond them was just a haze. Nothing else was relevant. There was only them and now.

Axel's lips were warm. So was the rest of his body. Roxas wanted nothing more than to melt into him; to lose himself in the comfort of this heat. Though there wasn't the same ferocity as last time, at least not from Axel, who was neither participating nor resisting. Roxas however, desperately pushed on, trying to coax Axel to contribute with little flicks of the tongue, pressing himself closer to the butler beneath him. With further persistence, Axel finally caved.

Feverishly they continued on, Axel grabbing fistfuls of cotton and Roxas running his fingers through red, surprisingly soft, spikes. It stopped too soon. Reluctantly, Axel pushed on Roxas' chest, severing the kiss. "Roxas," he breathed heavily, "We can't do this."

Roxas, determined to keep on, leaned over and whispered into Axel's ear, "Why? Aren't you enjoying yourself?"

Axel gulped, trying his best to restrain himself, "You're drunk. You don't know what you're doing."

"But you want this," Roxas persisted, "I can tell by the way you're looking at me." Axel pushed the blond, who had somehow crawled back on top, off of his chest and stood up.

"Not like this." He shook his head, "You won't even remember this when you wake up."

Roxas scowled. He was finally giving this guy what he wanted and now he was turning him down. It pissed him off. It really-made him sick to his stomach. No wait, maybe that was the booze. He could feel his face gain heat, and this wasn't leftover from Axel.

"Roxas, are you feeling alright?"

He aimed to say something, but rather than let out words, he let out something…less pleasant.

"That's what I thought," he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. Once the blond finished, Axel lifted him to his feet, "Let's get you inside, you should lie down."

Roxas mumbled in response. Now all he wanted to do was sleep. If it wasn't for Axel, he probably would have just passed out in the yard amidst discarded bottles and vomit. Once they got back inside, Axel threw the blond onto the living room couch. The music had died down significantly and those who weren't passed out on the floor were beginning to shuffle out the front door. "Looks like the parties over." Axel said.

Roxas mumbled something.

"What?"

"Where…my friends…"

Axel looked around, "Sorry Roxas, looks like they left."

That wasn't good. That was pretty much all his brain could comprehend from behind the approaching curtain of slumber. "Axel…" he trailed off, not sure where that sentence had been going. His vision was beginning to darken, his senses shutting off. There was no point in fighting the sleep.

* * *

His eyes creaked open, quickly shutting again after being exposed to the harsh light that flooded through his bedroom window. Wait, his bedroom window? How did he get _here_? He knew he had gone to Seifer's party last night, but when did he come back home? There was a harsh set of knocks wrapping away at his wooden door.

"Shit," he breathed as each knock induced a horrible pounding in his head that could probably break the Richter scale. Why did his head hurt so much?

"Roxas," it was his father, "Come downstairs. We need to talk."

Roxas swallowed hard. It was evident in Cloud's tone that there was something serious to be discussed. Fighting his throbbing head pains and woozy stomach, Roxas got out of bed to change out of his pajamas. He looked in the mirror. Looking back was a disheveled pirate. He was still in his costume. He wondered why he hadn't changed last night. After throwing on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, white for once, he walked down stairs at a pace that caused his head the least amount of pain possible.

When he entered the kitchen, both his mom and dad were sitting at the kitchen table, looking none too pleased. "Have a seat, Roxas." Cloud said curtly. Roxas complied. There was a definite tension in the air. Something was up. "Do you remember what time you got home last night?"

Roxas shrunk under the gaze of his father. "Well-"

"Well you wouldn't," Cloud cut him off, "Because you were unconscious."

"What?"

"At around 3:00 am last night, the doorbell wrung. Of course your mother and I were both still up waiting for you, but imagine our surprise when a tall redheaded boy stood at our doorstep carrying our passed out son on his back."

Roxas' eyes widened. What? Axel had brought him home? Why was he unconscious in the first place? He wracked his brain, searching all of its corners for some memory, any memory that would help him get a grasp of what had happened. But there was nothing. And so he could offer no response.

"Were you drinking last night, Roxas?" it was his mother this time, voice laced more with concern than anger, but it was equally painful to hear.

Finally he found a memory from last night. He and Axel were in the kitchen. There was shouting, loud music, and a beer. Roxas couldn't lie to Aerith. "I-yes."

She frowned, clearly disappointed. And Cloud, though not shouting or making any aggressive movements was fuming with anger. "You're lucky to have a friend like that," Cloud talked down to his son, layering on the guilt that lectures brought all kids, "Who knows what would have happened to you if he hadn't been around."

"I-I'm sorry," Roxas muttered, unable to match or bear the intensity that his father's eyes delivered. He would have been more sorry if he could recall just what occurred at the party, but it was all a blur. An incomprehensible blur.

"I don't want to hear that," Cloud said coldly, "You're grounded for the next month. That means no friends." Looking to Aerith, not for support but just for someone besides his father to look at, Roxas could tell that this pained her. Her spirit was too gentle to deal out such punishment. That's why Cloud was here. Roxas nodded. What was he supposed to say? "Now get up stairs and do your homework."

Roxas stood up and returned to his room in silence. He heard a dull vibration from what sounded to be miles away. He looked around his room for his phone. The noise brought his attention to a pile of clothes which was topped by his recently discarded pirate getup. He fished in the baggy pair of pants from the previous night and retracted his phone. He flipped it open and found he had several messages from Hayner.

_Come to the back yard, Seifer's trying to start something._

_Where are you?_

_Roxas, get your ass over here._

_Way to have my back last night._

Roxas felt the dark pit at the bottom of his stomach fill with more guilt, topping off the already present guilt and nausea. He had forgotten about Hayner. He had forgotten about his promise.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed it! Please review if you have any thoughts, questions, or comments.**


	6. Busting Out and Breaking In

**Oh my gosh, you guys are freaking awesome. I never thought this story would reach 700 views. That's insane! I mean, relatively speaking, it's not, but still! It's crazy that this many people would read my fic and I can't thank you all enough. I would have updated sooner, but I kinda started a new fic called Chasing a Ghost. Check it out if you want to see the product of my procrastination. Enjoy! (Note: The name of the band, Dusk, had already been used in Chapter 2, so I went back and changed it. Dusk is not supposed to be a band that Roxas is aware of.)**

* * *

Being grounded sucked. Although, perhaps it sucked more for other kids. It wasn't like Roxas had much his parents could take away. His phone was practically ancient, so there wasn't much entertainment to be had there. He didn't have a TV, or any kind of video game, he got his fair share of that at Pence's house during the winter. He had books, but what parent had ever forbid their child from reading? They couldn't take his music away, and that's what mattered. Because of the beautiful invention of the MP3 player, no one would ever know that he was maintaining sanity.

It was the only device worth some decent amount of money in his possession, though by now it had probably dropped in value. He had bought it with his own cash. As soon as it came on the market, Roxas must have been around 8 years old if he recalled correctly, he began raising money. He begged for work from his parents and when they no longer had any jobs for him, he asked around the neighborhood, doing odd jobs for five munny an hour. Once he reached the amount he was aiming for, he rushed to the local electronic store and waited outside for it to open. The shop clerk had probably found it odd that this kid was flipping out over a device that wasn't even new anymore, but Roxas hadn't cared. It was probably the first thing he had ever poured his efforts into, but it was well worth it.

Once the transaction was made, Roxas rushed home like he had the golden ticket and bolted up his stairs to his already sizable CD collection. It took about a week to get all of his music on that device using his dad's clunky old computer, but he had never felt so accomplished at the end of it all. Nine years later and the thing still functioned like new.

Roxas took solace in this memory as he blasted said device in his long-abused ear canals. He lay on his bed, hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling. There was certainly nothing interesting about the ceiling, it was simply in his line of vision.

His room was softly illuminated in orange by the late afternoon sun, casting everything in it with a feel of nostalgia and melancholy yearning. He looked around, trying to find something to do. On his desk were several binders containing homework that he had finished hours ago. They were stacked alphabetically by subject. He shifted his glance to his CD rack, which he had also reorganized several times. Lazily he sat up on his bed with his arm over a raised knee. There was literally nothing left to do to fight the boredom, other than let his music play on.

He thought back to the texts he had read that morning. Hayner. Roxas tried responding several times throughout the day, but he never heard back from him. Part of him wasn't surprised at this. He had abandoned his friend after all. He had gone off drinking and left him to fight off Seifer, and possibly his cronies, all by himself.

The imprisoned teenager sighed. What a mess he had gotten himself into. Scratch that. What a mess Axel had gotten him into. If he hadn't pushed Roxas to drink, then he would have been there for his friend. Oh, and he'd probably also remember the rest of his evening. He had concluded early on that morning that he had drank way too much. It wasn't too hard to put the pieces together. Axel made him drink and he woke up in his room still in his costume the next morning. He hoped he hadn't done anything embarrassing while he was 'under the influence'.

He let himself fall back onto his back, returning his tired gaze to the ceiling. No matter how much he increased the volume of his music, he longed to close his eyes. But he knew that if he did-and he did and quickly shot them back open after proving himself right-he would see Hayner staring him down with an unforgiving scowl. Or worse-he repeated the process he knew would induce his visions-he would see Axel.

Widening his eyes and tensing his body to stay awake, Roxas focused intently on the current song playing by _Destined_. He took time to admire all of the individual musicians; the virtuosic guitar along with the soaring vocals, steady bass and blazing drums. But there was this incessant tapping. He raised an eyebrow, even though no one was there to see it. He tried to identify the source of the beat. It wasn't from the snare, or the high hat, or the double bass drums. It hardly sounded like a drum at all. And then he saw it, caught in the peripheries of Roxas' curious eyes, was a finger, tapping away on the outside of his window.

He jerked back up into sitting position and ripped out his earbuds. Roxas wasn't sure whether to hide under the bed or investigate. It wasn't every day a finger floated up to your window and started knocking. He shook his head, clearing his mind. Of course, the finger had to be attached to a hand, and the hand to an arm, etc. He grabbed the handles of his double door windows, one in each hand and swung them open. The tapping ceased.

And then a head popped into view, "Hey Roxy!"

Roxas screamed and fell over off his bed, landing on his head. Thankfully his room was carpeted. He sat up and rubbed his head, "Axel, what the _hell _are you doing?" he paused as he considered the circumstances, "More importantly, how do you know where I live and how did you freaking scale my house?!"

The redheaded intruder swung a leg over the window sill and let himself in, landing on Roxas' bed, using it as a spring board to launch him back into the air and down onto the carpet, shoes inches away from Roxas' hand. "I just wanted to see my favorite blond is all," he said with a wink. "As for your address," he flashed a smile, "Let's just say I've got connections."

"That's reassuring," Roxas said sarcastically, "And my house? Just _how _did you get up here?"

"Your house is hardly that tall, Rox," he dismissed, "I simply jumped back and forth between yours and the neighboring house until I could reach your window sill and grab on. You know, like in the video games."

Roxas blinked, wearing an expression nothing short of incredulous. "What are you, an Olympian? That's ridiculous!"

Axel laughed heartily, "Oh, Roxas," he put an arm around the boy, "You give me too much credit."

The stunned blond removed the arm from his shoulder, realizing the situation he was in. "You can't be here. I'm supposed to be grounded!" He slapped his hands over his mouth after hearing how loud he was talking. He continued in a whisper, "If my dad finds out, I'm screwed!"

Axel whispered back, "He's not _gonna_ find out. And I know you're grounded, that's why I'm here."

"Wait," Roxas put a hand up, "How did you know I was grounded?"

"Hmm, well let's see. I showed up at your front door with you black-out drunk on my back at 3:00 am last night." He said, "So I guess you could call it a hunch."

"Thanks for the reminder," Roxas said bitterly, "Now you still haven't told me why you're here!" Axel put a finger up to his mouth, which was still stretched into a cocky grin. Roxas' eyes widened at the gesture, for his voice had begun to crescendo from a whisper back into a shout. "Why are you here?!" he tried again in a whisper.

"I'm busting you out!" he whispered back, "Come on!" he reached out his hand to the now bewildered blond.

"What? But I'm grounded."

"That's the point, bone head," Axel persisted, "Do you really want to spend your entire Saturday locked up in your room?"

Roxas thought about it, briefly though, because the answer was obvious. "Hell no."

Axel grinned, "Let's get going then!" He grabbed the blonde's hand and pulled him up on top of Roxas' bed, "Now I'm gonna lower you down from your window, ok? The drop isn't that bad."

The suddenly adrenaline charged blond simply nodded, placing one leg after the other out of the open window, allowing Axel to lower him down until his arm was extended fully. Roxas noted Axel's impressive strength before dropping himself to the ground. He let out a tight gasp, but the fall ended sooner than expected, the impact causing minimal pain. Then Axel followed suit. Hanging from the ledge he closed the windows as far as his obstructing fingers would allow before dropping down to the lawn with a thump. He made it seem easy. The two began a quick trot away from the house as not to be spotted by Roxas' parents.

As they made their escape, Roxas couldn't help but question why he was going along with this. Why was he so ready to follow this guy when he knew the consequences would probably outweigh the amusement that the rest of the day might hold? Then again, he would choose anything over the stifling boredom within his room. "So where are we going?" Roxas asked and after feeling a sense of dejavu, added, "And don't say it's a surprise."

"Drat," Axel said with an over exaggerated swing of the arm and a snap, "Seems you read my mind Roxy."

"Can you ever be serious?"

"Why Roxas," Axel put a hand to his chest, as if he were flustered, "Whatever do you mean?" This earned Axel a glare. He put an arm back around the escapee, "Come on Rox, lighten up a bit. It's Saturday and the sun hasn't even set!"

Roxas took notice of Axel's unrelenting attempts to get his arm around him and once again shucked it off, trying to create a couple inches of distance between them. "Alright, fine," he gave in, "So where are we going?"

"We're here!"

As they had been squabbling back and forth, Roxas had forgotten that they were walking through town. He must have subconsciously been following Axel's lead because he had no idea how they got here. They stood in front of a dirty beat-up garage that was separate from the house that stood next to it.

"What are we doing here?" Roxas asked, not understanding the significance of the location.

"So full of questions, aren't we, Roxy?" Axel sighed facetiously. He leaned over, grabbing the rusty handle of the garage door and lifted. The door screeched in complaint as it was raised open, arriving at the top with a loud clang.

"Finally! I thought you guys would never show!" Roxas squinted into the dark space, finding the voice had come from Demyx, "It's so boring with just drums and guitar! Marly even started singing!"

The details of the garage started to solidify as Roxas' eyes began to adjust. There was a couch positioned against the left side of the room, where Marluxia and Zexion sat, both looking rather bored. Demyx sat atop of a tall black box, cradling his sitar, legs dangling over. And Lexeaus, still as a statue-though it was hard to imagine him any other way- sat behind- a drum kit?

"Wait," Roxas put up his hands, growing excitement clear in his tone, "Are you guys in a band?!"

Axel smiled, mentally confirming that Roxas was indeed big into music, "That's right!" he walked over to his friends and turned around, "We are _Dusk_, humbly at your service!" he said with an exaggerated bow.

Marluxia interjected, "_They_ are _Dusk_, I'm just a die-hard fan," he said in dry sarcasm.

"Aw come on Marly," Axel said, "You manage us! That makes you a genuine member of the band!"

"Flirting with bar owner's under the guise of a woman in order to get you gigs is not management." Marluxia dismissed nonchalantly, examining his well-kept nails.

"Technically it _is _management." Zexion offered.

"Technically shut up, Zexion!" Marluxia said and punched the scholar in the arm.

"So what does Zexion play?" Roxas inquired, noticing he wasn't holding an instrument.

"Keys," the slate-haired boy put simply, stretching over the arm of the couch and picking up a keyboard.

Roxas nodded, "And Axel?"

"I sing, of course! Geez Rox, I figured it'd be pretty obvious."

He ignored this, "Wait, who's on bass?" Demyx and Axel grinned at him, like a couple of kids who just couldn't keep a secret. "What?"

"They want you on bass," Marluxia called over in a disinterested tone, not even looking up from his nails.

Roxas heart flipped. They wanted _him _in their band?! Holy shit, they wanted him in their band! He couldn't believe what he was hearing. This turn of events took him for such a surprise that Roxas didn't even realize what a total flustered dork he was acting like, "Oh my god, are you serious?!"

They all nodded, except for Lexaeus, but his eyes held an element of confirmation. "That's right," Demyx sang, hopping off of what Roxas now recognized as an amp, "Whadda ya say, Roxas?"

"I say hell yeah!" the new blond bassist shouted, betraying his normally apathetic disposition. This was so incredibly exciting! He had been listening to music for as long as he could remember. He had spent all of his allowances on CDs and merch and put countless hours into practicing. Now he could finally be a part of his own band; create his own music! "Only, I won't be able to play with you guys right away. I left my bass back at school. Oh yeah, and I'm grounded for a month."

Axel laughed, "Well that didn't stop you from getting here." He had a point, as long as Roxas timed it correctly, taking into consideration what his parents may need to see him for, like meals and whatnot, then maybe he could just keep sneaking out. Axel continued, "And as for your bass, well that's what you and I are about to take care of."

"What?" Roxas asked, confused by what Axel had just said.

"You and me, Roxy," Axel said simply, "We're gonna go head over to school and grab your bass."

Before Roxas could protest Axel's suggestion, the redhead grabbed his arm and began running out of the garage, dragging the blond behind him. He turned his head and waved back to his friends, "See ya guys in an hour!"

* * *

They sped through the town weaving through alleys and passages slowing only when there was a bystander they would have to avoid. This journey was blatantly reminiscent of their last outing. Axel ran without hesitation and Roxas trailed behind in confusion, only keeping up by the lifeline that was Axel's hand.

Night was now on the verge of completing its vast sweep over the sky, the dwindling orange sun just barely visible over the horizon, which half the time was obstructed by the copious amount of buildings of Twilight Town. The place was a labyrinth and if a tourist ever tried to find their way around here-forget about it.

Roxas recognized the sign for the local coffee shop that hung at the end of the block. Around that corner and across the street was Twilight High. "So is school even open on Saturdays?" Roxas asked.

"Technically no," Axel said, slowing down their sprint into a trot. They stopped before rounding the corner of the café.

"What do you mean _technically_?" Roxas asked, getting irritated by the fact that everything Axel said was a puzzle, "Is it open or not?"

"It's not."

"Then why are we here?!" Roxas felt like he was going in circles.

"To get your bass."

Circles and circles. "You can't mean we're breaking in."

"Well how else are we gonna get it?" Axel seemed oblivious to the implications that came with his plan.

"That's illegal!"

"Roxas listen," the redhead lectured, bringing his arm over Roxas' shoulder once again, "Rules are _meant _to be broken. If everyone just did as they were told, then no one would ever get anything significant done. Without a bit of disorder, society would never progress and everything would stagnate." Axel said this all with a straight face. Was this really his outlook on things?

"Thanks a lot, professor," Roxas said snidely, pushing Axel away for what seemed to be the millionth time that day, "Now let's head back. There's no way I'm assisting you in a felony." Roxas turned on his heel and started to walk back, though he didn't actually know how to get back to that garage.

Axel sighed, "Shame, guess we'll have to cancel the gig."

Roxas stopped in place. "The _what_?" He said quietly without turning his head.

"The gig," Axel repeated, walking up to the blond, "We have a show scheduled at this very coffee shop for next Friday. It's too bad our bass player won't be able to get the material down before the show." Hook line and sinker. They both knew that Roxas would give in.

"Fine," Roxas said, "But if we get caught, you're taking the blame." Roxas started walking towards the school, taking the lead with Axel grinning behind.

"Whatever you say, Roxy. Whatever you say."

* * *

The fact that Axel already knew how to break in made Roxas think that the redhead had done this before. The two had made their way to the rear of the building. The windows that looked in on the cafeteria were ground level, ideal for breaking and entering. According to Axel, there was one window that had a broken lock. He had definitely done this before.

Their sneakers, no matter how hard they tried to muffle their footsteps, created crisp echoes that traveled throughout the school as they snuck through the halls. Everything was unfamiliar. The two were accustomed to their surroundings being bathed in white fluorescents, but in the dark, they continued to bump into things, making their presence all the more obvious. Good thing the school couldn't afford a night watch, or security cameras for that matter.

"The band room is that way," Roxas whispered to the tall silhouette beside him, making an unseen gesture towards the pair of wooden double doors.

"Why are you whispering?" Axel asked at a level tone, which sounded obscenely loud to Roxas, making the boy flinch.

"So we don't get caught," he whispered aggressively, "How can you be so oblivious?!"

The redhead laughed heartily, creating a cacophony of reverberating humor, "What do you mean?" Axel shouted deliberately at the top of his lungs.

"You idiot!" Roxas hissed quietly. He grabbed Axel by his leather jacket and threw him against the nearest set of lockers, slapping a free hand over Axel's mouth. "What the _hell _is your problem? Ever since I've met you, you've been a serious pain in my ass, making my life a confusing nightmare and turning my whole god damned world upside down with that kiss."

Had he really just said that? Roxas' eyes widened at the words that had just left his mouth. Where did they come from? He wasn't even thinking about them-they just kind of blurted out. Axel gazed down, eyes shining with mischief, at the boy who had him pinned to the locker. "I was wondering when you would come out and say it, Roxy."

"I didn't say anything," Roxas muttered, turning his head to the side. This wasn't good. Somewhere along the line, Axel had become his-his center of affection. It made him wince just thinking about it. No-this couldn't be happening-this wasn't who he was. Was it? All this apathy and coldness he showed towards Axel-they were all just defenses-prolonging the inevitable in an attempt to cover up his feelings. Roxas became startlingly aware of all of this within a couple seconds, but he damn sure wasn't going to admit it. Not to Axel. He wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

"Hey," Axel said soothingly. He placed a couple fingers under Roxas' chin, guiding his face towards his own. They were centimeters away. Wide blue eyes met calm green ones; the windows of their souls open for observation. The vulnerability, the heat, the pressure- it was all too much to hold back.

Simultaneously, their faces moved towards one another, lips colliding. Axel took this chance to catch Roxas off guard, grabbing him by the arms and spinning the two 180 degrees so that the junior was pinned to the lockers in his place. Not once was the kiss broken. Roxas mind was all but a blur. There was no room for logic, not even comprehension. All he knew was that this felt too good to stop. After about a minute, Axel poked at Roxas' lips with his tongue, requesting entry. The quivering blond resisted briefly and gave in, learning the feeling of this foreign muscle. Hesitantly, he brought his own tongue into the equation, intermingling with Axel's.

They split momentarily to catch their breath and resumed. Roxas wrapped his arms around Axel's broad shoulders, holding on for dear life. The redhead noticed this and grinned through their kiss, knowing he had the upper hand. Axel kneaded his leg in between Roxas', who mewed softly in response.

Roxas was so lost. He was lost in his thoughts and he didn't know the way out. How had it come to this? Where was the turning point that led up to this turn of events? He had never looked at a guy like he had Axel. They were all just guys; just dudes-whatever. But Axel, there was something about him, something that latched onto Roxas' thoughts without mercy. They weren't all positive qualities necessarily. On the contrary, so many things about the redhead pissed Roxas off. But regardless, he was in the blonds head, and he had control.

After an undeterminable amount of time, Axel released his captive. He leaned down to Roxas' ear and whispered, "Let's go get your bass." Roxas gulped and nodded. They walked over to the band room in silence, as the blond was too dumbfounded for words. Using his photo I.D., Axel got the doors open. Roxas did a lot of fumbling before he found his bass, but luckily he didn't knock anything over.

* * *

The walk back was just as silent, though the circumstances no longer called for it. Roxas knew that if he tried to form a sentence, he would only end up stammering. His pulse was pounding and he felt like he was about to spit up his heart. No butterflies, nope, only organ vomit for this guy.

Once they reached the garage, they found it to be closed. Axel raised an eyebrow, "That's weird." He peered through the grimy windows of the garage door, only to find it empty. "Looks like they split. I told them we'd be back in an hour, I wonder what gives?" The redhead took out his phone, face illuminated by the white backlight. "Holy shit, Roxas," he laughed, "We were gone for three hours." Roxas only nodded in response, still unable to verbalize his jumbled mess of thoughts. How could Axel be so casual about all of this? "Well I guess I better walk you home. Let's hope your parents didn't notice you left."

The trip to his house was relatively short, as Roxas had spent it in his thoughts, though not coming up with any clear answers or conclusions. They stood at the side of his house now. The sky was littered with stars that matched the intensity of Axel's glimmering eyes that stared longingly down at him. "See you in school, Roxy," he leaned down and pecked Roxas lightly on the cheek, "Now come on, let me boost you up."

Roxas complied, speechless. Once he reached his sill, he opened one of the windows and clambered over onto his bed. He poked his head back out into the night, but his escort had already vanished.

* * *

**Summer's on the horizon and I hope to update more frequently when the time comes. Once again, thanks for reading. Tell me what you think in a review and have a nice day!**


	7. Equilibrium

**So I had wanted to get this up sooner, but you know, finals 'n all that. But Summer has arrived, so I intend to upload more frequently! This one is a bit shorter than you're probably used to, but it seemed appropriate. Also, thanks for 900+ views! You guys are awesome!**

* * *

The following morning had been an eventful one. As if the previous day hadn't provided enough excitement. Nope, it was gonna keep on coming. Roxas had been called downstairs relatively early by his mother. This had piqued his interest, as her voice was sounded terribly on edge. Usually Sundays were laid back and easygoing, like his mother. For a couple seconds, he suspected that he had been found out; that his parents had noticed his absence and were summoning him in order to extend his punishment. This wasn't the case, however.

Roxas was dismayed to find his family standing at the foot of the stairs, gathered around their propped open front door. His mother stood with her hands by her side and her gaze lowered, while Namine's face was in an intense red flush, eyes watering profusely. But Roxas wasn't fully dumbstruck until he noticed. Cloud was in his military uniform. What was this?

"What's going on?" Roxas croaked, either from just having woken up or the sudden sadness that came with the obvious situation.

"Your father has been called back into service. He's leaving for Station Heights immediately." Aerith spoke softly as usual, but the pain wrung clear. Namine let out a sob after hearing it spoken aloud once more.

Roxas finished his descent down the stairs and looked up at his father, who no longer held a gaze of disappointment, as he had the night before, but simply a flat stony expression. He pulled his daughter into a hug and patted her back gently. She shook and quivered in his arms, a stifled cry coming from his green combat jacket. Roxas couldn't believe what he was hearing. He couldn't believe his father was leaving.

He released Namine and spoke directly to Roxas, "I don't know when I'll be back. I want you to watch over your mother and sister for me. You're the man of the house now." He reached his hand out to his son, who grasped it firmly and shook. This was as intimate as it would get.

"Right," Roxas said as flatly as Cloud spoke, trying to maintain a calm atmosphere for his sister and mother. He wanted to shout; to plea and let the floodgates of his eyes give out. He didn't want his dad to leave. But he held it in. He had to.

Cloud nodded. He reached out for Aerith and pulled her into an embrace and gave her a kiss; one of those short ones that you saw only with married couples when they were parting momentarily. But would this separation be temporary as their kiss implied? Roxas hoped so.

The tall middle-aged soldier grasped his daughters shoulder and gave the disheartened teen a kiss on the forehead before saying, "I love you all," and heading out the door. The cacophony of female sobs was immediate as the front door closed behind him. Roxas just stared at the spot where his father had stood seconds ago.

* * *

"No, stop," Zexion complained, "That's incredibly flat, Demyx, how can you possibly be _that _flat."

"I don't know!" Demyx whined, "The intonation changes when I switch the settings for a guitar sound. Why do you have to be so picky about this stuff?"

"You're putting the whole band out of whack Dem, just tune the thing!" Axel laughed good-naturedly.

This was Dusk's first band practice with their new bassist. It wasn't much like how Roxas had imagined it. They hadn't gotten very far before Zexion started critiquing everyone's sound, but Roxas supposed that was essential. If anything, this was a lot like High School Concert Band. Except the raging tyrant Luxord was replaced by a quieter, yet somehow more critical Zexion.

Roxas looked around the room, observing its occupants. It was starting to make more sense why these guys all wore black. He had been too distracted by their odd behaviors during the first month of school, but now Roxas was beginning to realize that a lot of their clothing had band logos printed on them. He was even familiar with a few. He supposed every band had their own look, and black wasn't an uncommon one in musical culture. Roxas' early suspicions of gang activity were starting to seem more and more ridiculous in retrospect.

"Gah, fine," Demyx said, admitting defeat. He turned his head to the top of his Sitar and began twisting the various knobs at the top. His eyes were squinted into an intense, yet comical concentration.

"Let's try it from the top again," Axel suggested after Demyx finished messing with his instrument, "You sure you've got your part down, Roxy?"

"Yeah," Roxas said, having given up on fighting that demeaning nickname. He had spent his entire Sunday, aside from the dramatic morning, practicing the many songs Dusk had already written. They were, to his relief, something actually challenging. Marluxia had emailed him the rough recordings of each song with their old bassist playing. He had to strain his ears to hear the part, but he got it in the end.

Lexaeus tapped his drumsticks four times, signaling the start of the song. Roxas and Demyx immediately began their parts, cranking out riffs that shook the walls. After two measures of lone strings, the drums came in, providing a steady rhythm. Roxas couldn't help but bob his head to the tempo and smile. He had never gotten this kind of satisfaction from playing his instrument before. Being part of a group like the many dozen he admired, it was almost too much to take in.

Then Zexion entered with a simple enough keyboard pattern which would soon become progressively more complex. The keys added a gentle element to the music, as if to assure the band's listeners that they were not just another angst-ridden rock group.

And then Axel came in. Roxas' eyes widened as the redhead began his lyrics.

"_Don't hide from the truth, we're much more than you know. Your blanket of lies wears thin, your farce all but shows." _He sang gently into the microphone, staring into the space in front of him as if he aimed to convey his message to the garage door.

This was the first time Roxas had heard him sing. He hadn't suspected him to be bad, but certainly not _this_ good. It was smooth and melodious, dripping with emotion and power. Roxas' finger slipped, causing a small hiccup in the bass line, but he corrected himself shortly.

"_Give up this game 'cuz you know you've already lost. Don't conceal your face, the line has just been crossed." _Axel turned his head towards Roxas and gave him a wink. Roxas blushed, but surprised himself and returned the gesture with a smile.

Once the song was finished everyone put down their instruments and took a breather, sitting in their respective spots. Roxas, being the newbie, had to squeeze himself between Marluxia and Zexion on the stuffy old couch. Luckily the bands manager wasn't sitting long. Marluxia stood up and walked over to the top left corner of the room behind the drum kit. He bent over and picked up one of those plastic milk crates, but rather than milk, it contained a tall stack of paper.

"Listen up people," Marluxia started, sounding annoyed already, "I want you all to take a big stack of flyers home with you tonight and just flyer the shit out of this town. Just 'cuz the gig is scheduled doesn't mean anyone knows about it." He proceeded to throw the flyers in heavy stacks onto each members lap. "This show is going to sell out. You don't want to know what will happen if it doesn't."

Everyone's expression remained unchanged, except for Roxas, who couldn't help but gulp. He wondered if Marluxia made these kinds of threats often and if they were all just used to it by now.

"Don't worry, Roxas. Marly says this every time we're getting ready for a gig. He couldn't hurt a fly!" Demyx called from atop his amp.

"Damn it, Demyx!" Marluxia sighed, "Stop ruining my fun messing with the new kid!" His intimidating demeanor had deteriorated into flustered femininity.

Axel let out an exaggerated yawn from the metal folding chair across from the couch. "Well, I'd say we've done enough for this rehearsal. Good job guys."

Getting the hint that it was time to get out, everyone started shuffling around, putting their instruments in their proper cases and collecting their individual mountains of flyers. Roxas slid his bass into its shell case and grabbed his flyers in his free hand, which he fought to keep from spilling to the ground.

"Here," Axel's voice came softly as he approached the struggling blond, "Let me help you with those." On his way down to pick up the stack of paper their eyes locked in place. Granted it was only for a brief second, but to Roxas it felt like an eternity. There was a certain knowing in Axel's eyes that implied they had things to talk about.

"Axel-"

"Let me walk you home." The redhead interrupted, leading the way out of the garage while the remaining Demyx and Zexion stayed behind. "Make sure you guys lock up on your way out." Axel called over his shoulder.

* * *

The night sky was littered generously with stars. It was only six 'o clock, but Roxas supposed it was just another symptom of the changing seasons. He tried to occupy his thoughts with simple observations like this so he wouldn't take notice of how beautifully the moonlight hit Axel's skin.

"You sounded pretty good for your first time," Axel said, interrupting Roxas' competing thoughts.

"You too," Roxas blurted out, "Your singing I mean-not that it was your first time-but," he struggled to put his words into a concise sentence as the panic set in. What was he even worried about? They were just talking about rehearsal!

"Aw, well I'm no prodigy, but thanks Rox. That means a lot coming from you." His voice was reflective and sincere, like that night on the clocktower. "So I want to talk to you about something."

Roxas flinched, knowing exactly what it was Axel wanted to talk about. And he wanted to talk about it too, but he couldn't pretend that it wasn't embarrassing. Even though the streets of Twilight Town were vacant, as they usually were when the sun had set, it was still embarrassing. If Axel was a girl then this wouldn't be so hard. Roxas would be able to handle this no problem. There'd be no sweaty palms, no increased heart rates, nor butterflies. But he wasn't a girl. He was a guy, and that was what scared Roxas the most. It was no secret that Axel liked him, and Roxas was pretty sure he returned the feelings. But if anyone found out…he was bound to lose someone.

"About us?" Roxas asked, well aware of the answer. He hadn't even planned to speak first. His voice sounded distant to him, like another part of Roxas was speaking for him.

"Yeah, about us." Axel rubbed the back of his head, a habit he seemed to indulge in when he wasn't utterly confident. "Roxas," he paused and stopped walking. The blond followed suit and turned to face him. Axel gazed down longingly at the blond and took the underclassman's hands in his own. "I know it's obvious by now, but…" he hesitated again. This wasn't like him. He was always so sure of himself. "I like you. A lot."

Roxas felt his mouth quiver. Of course he had known, but actually hearing it out loud, so truthfully from Axel, made all the difference. It was almost like a formality. He had simply needed to hear it. "I-" Roxas fought with his shy side within his mind. _Don't mess this up. Tell him how you feel. _"I like you too." Had he really just said that? Had he really just admitted his feelings to Axel? His voice still sounded distant and foreign. He felt like he wasn't a willing participant in the conversation and he was just watching the conversation ensue.

The redhead smiled, looking blissfully relieved that his feelings were returned. "Then," he paused yet again, probably still trying to wrap his mind around it all, just like Roxas, "Do you wanna go out sometime?"

"Out?"

"Yeah, out. You know, like on a date." He chuckled.

It wasn't that the idea of going out with Axel wasn't appealing to Roxas. It was increasingly appealing the more he thought about it. But there was the aspect of other people. What would Twilight Town think of two guys dating? No doubt they wouldn't be accepted by the entire town; it wasn't the most progressive place in the world. He could already feel the judging eyes of strangers boring their disapproval into him. "Sure, but-"

"But?" Axel's smile fell in sudden concern.

Roxas laughed, partly out of nervous habit, "But can we wait until after the show on Friday? Between that and school, I've kinda got a lot on my plate."

Axel's regained his smile instantly. "Yeah, that sounds good."

They spent the rest of the way back to Roxas' discussing today's rehearsal as well as just music in general. Turned out they liked a lot of the same bands. Roxas wondered why they hadn't hit off sooner. "Well we're here. I gotta say, Roxy, I'm getting pretty familiar with this route." He said jovially. Well, it was good to see Axel had regained his charismatic personality. Even though it often came with a heaping dose of sarcasm and a staggering amount of confidence, Roxas was sort of comforted by it. "Before you know it, I'll be able to make it here blindfolded."

Roxas nodded, "Don't get ahead of yourself," he said playfully.

Axel responded by closing the distance between the two and wrapping the blond in a light embrace. Roxas looked up to meet Axel's eyes, but found his lips with his own first. It was a brief kiss; soft and light. Not like any of the other times. But it was sweet and reassuring. "See ya."

"Bye." Roxas started towards his front door, but not before turning around to wave farewell to Axel once more. He couldn't help it. Having pushed back his doubts and worries, he could hardly contain his excitement.

* * *

"Hi, Roxas!" Aerith called from the kitchen as soon as the blond opened the front door, "How was band practice?"

Since Cloud was away now, Aerith had decided to lift Roxas' grounding in order to keep the family united. Upon being released from his punishment, he had told her that he had just joined Dusk with a couple of friends from school. She seemed pretty happy for him. Then again, anything that would take her mind off Cloud would probably make her happy, hence the wall of rich aromas that hit Roxas when he entered the kitchen.

"It was good," Roxas said as he stowed his bass in the corner. He would have taken it up to his room, but it seemed dinner was almost ready, as Namine was already setting the table for three. "We actually have a show coming up this Friday at the café, if you guys want to come." He hadn't exactly done his part with the flyers, so spreading the word to his family was the least he could do.

"We would love to, right Nami?" Namine must have still been feeling down from yesterday. Their mother only called her by her childhood nickname when Namine needed cheering up.

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

The mood in the kitchen was kind of dismal, even though Aerith was trying her best to keep family morale high. "Is there anything I can do to help prepare for dinner?" Roxas offered.

"Just sit down, dear. Everything is ready." Aerith said kindly.

Dinner in the Strife household was usually filled with active conversation, granted most of it came from the women of the house. But with that empty chair at the head of the table, neither of them seemed to want to speak. The food was amazing. Roxas wasn't sure he had ever had such good cooking in his life, which lead him to believe that Aerith had been working all day on this meal. She had taken off from work after all. Roxas tried to strike up conversations with his mother and sister. He wasn't going to let them get him down, not after what had happened between him and Axel. They humored him, but there was no interest behind their words. At least he had gotten them to go to his show. After everyone's plaits were cleared, Roxas started silently clearing the table. He kissed his mother on the cheek, grabbed his bass, and headed up to his room.

He hoped that over time, they would get over this. But with Cloud gone, there was no stability. Roxas wondered where it was the military needed Cloud to be and why. If they had resorted to calling soldiers that old back into service, then they must have run out of young recruits. Of course all information regarding war was strictly off limits to the public in order to preserve domestic peace.

Conflicted with the clashing temporary loss of Cloud and his relationship with Axel, Roxas decided to throw himself into his homework. He had a lot, thanks to Saix, so he would be busy up until he went to bed. Before settling down into his desk, he walked over to his CD shelf, dragging his finger down the spines of the jewel cases, stopping at the one that read _Dark Realm_. It was a strictly instrumental album, perfect for filling the silence without distracting him from his work.

After about an hour, his mind began to wander. He thought about the school day. He had tried to confront Hayner about Friday night's party during gym, but he made no sign of accepting the blonde's apology. If anything, his anger had grown over the weekend, as he came at Roxas with a newfound intensity during struggle. Maybe he could get through to his hard-headed friend the next day. Maybe.

His phone vibrated against his wooden desk, causing Roxas to snap his head up. He flipped it open and looked down at the message. Speak of the devil.

_Hey. Sorry about today. I overreacted. _

_Hayner_

This came to Roxas as a shock. It wasn't like Hayner. Throughout the course of their friendship, Hayner had never shown any sign of humility or penance. Roxas wondered what had gotten into him.

* * *

"There, it's done. Are you happy?" Hayner asked, sitting on the edge of his bed, speaking to the body behind him without turning his head. His bare arms dangled between his legs with his phone lightly holding the phone in suspension. "I can't believe you talked me into that."

"Oh shut up. You couldn't go a week without being all chummy with that chickenwuss."

* * *

**Did I really just end it that way? Oh my. What have I gotten myself into? ;) Thanks for reading and keep this thing alive by reviewing!**


	8. Stewing

**Just a couple of things before you start reading. The majority of this chapter is written in Hayner's POV. That being said, due to the language of this chapter, I have changed the story rating from T to M. So reader discretion is advised. Enjoy!**

* * *

The sound of the front door slamming from downstairs echoed throughout the town house, causing a half-awake Hayner to grin sheepishly. "And the coast is clear," he whispered to himself. He stood up and glared at the empty spot in his bed that had held another occupant only a couple hours ago. Hayner knew there was no way Seifer would wake up next to him after what happened last night. Correction. Seifer would never wake up next to him regardless of the situation.

After silencing his alarm clock that was destined to go off in a minute, Hayner carried himself to the bathroom, feeling the cold wooden floor beneath his bare feet. He reached for the squeaky doorknob, which was also cold. He frowned. Everything was cold. He wouldn't admit it, but it was probably because he had gotten used to the heat of another body.

Hayner stared into the smudgy mirror of the town house's only bathroom. It was smudgy and had a couple of cracks in the corners. Staring back at the boy was a disheveled teenager, hair mussed up beyond hope without a shower and eyes drooping into their bags below. He felt like crap. He shucked off his tank top and boxers and hopped into the shower. Turning the knob to the left, he let what should have been hot water cascade down his skin. The old man must have already used it all up.

After his brisk rinse, Hayner threw on his usual getup, except now his camouflage pants reached the ground and his shirt had sleeves. It was getting too cold for his much preferred summer attire. He slipped his arms into his only hoodie, which was by now blatantly too small, as it hugged his body rather tightly.

The kitchen was empty as had been hinted by the door earlier. Hayner opened the fridge and ducked his head in, searching for something passable for breakfast. His eyes scanned around, trying to see through the many beer bottles that obstructed a lot of the food. Some of them were already opened and one was even empty, though who knew how long they had been there? Finally he spotted a white carton with red Chinese print on it. Lo Mein would have to do.

As he plunged one of the remaining clean forks into the greasy container, he thought about the previous day. He thought of how Roxas had attempted to apologize, but he had been too mad to accept it. He thought about how Seifer had seen fit to ruin his day further by intercepting him on his way home. How they had scrapped for a bit, and how it had ended with some pretty nasty words. But the event after was what still perplexed the spitfire blond the most. What the hell had driven Seifer to barge his way in last night? What had caused him to push Hayner down on to his bed and practically devour his face?

Such questions bounced around the boy's brain until he finished his 'breakfast' and decided that these questions would have to wait. He walked over to the kitchen table, and picked up his ratty backpack.

Upon locking up the house behind him, Hayner promptly shoved his hands into his hoodie pockets. When they wouldn't fit, he tried his much baggier cargo pants. They were much more spacious. He kept his head down as he began his walk to school. This was probably the worst neighborhood one could have the misfortune of stumbling upon. It was home to some shady characters and was where most of the crime in Twilight Town occurred; a perfect place for raising a kid.

The fact that he grew up there made it even more puzzling how, at one point, he and Seifer had been best friends, which if you asked anyone else, was a lie. Just looking at the two in the same room was enough to convince you that they were the bane of one another's existence. But nonetheless, best friends they had once been. But that was a long time ago; before high school.

Hayner started spotting more kids from school as he made his way out of the 'shit district', as he referred to it. "Hayner!" a familiar voice called out in the distance. He turned his head and smiled, seeing Pence jog over. "Good morning!" Everything was always peaches and cream with Pence, and he liked that. It shined a bit of light onto Hayner's life.

"Morning," Hayner mumbled back as Pence took up stride next to him.

"Dude, how hard was that history homework last night?" Pence said, jumping right into a conversation, "I was up till midnight finishing the essay portion!"

"The-the history homework?" Hayner scratched his head and let the bad news sink in. Well, if anything, it was yesterday's news. Ok, screw it. This wasn't news to him at all. It was no rare occurrence that Hayner forgot to do his homework. "We had history homework?"

Pence sighed and palmed his face. "Man that's gonna ruin your grade. You know Cid is gonna be on your case more than ever this time."

"Yeah yeah, I know." Hayner sighed in return. "I've dealt with worse."

"Hey guys!" another familiar voice called, "Fancy seeing you here!" Olette came trotting up to Hayner's right. He silently thanked her for ending that conversation. The school was beginning to come into focus. Hayner wasn't sure if he was grateful for that or not. He wasn't necessarily ready for a run-in with Seifer. "So have you guys seen all of these flyers around town?" Olette asked as she rummaged through her bag, withdrawing a folded piece of paper. She opened it up and read, "Come see Dusk live at Snow's café. November 7th." She waited for a reaction and upon receiving none, continued, "That's this Friday! You guy's wanna go?"

"Sure, sounds fun!" Pence chimed in, "Right Hayner?"

"Yeah, I guess so." He knew so. He'd rather be anywhere than home on a Friday night.

"It's settled then!" Olette said brightly, "I'll ask the others throughout the day." They climbed the stone stairs to the school entrance and walked into the hallway, adding to the hundreds of squeaks and clatters that already came from the rest of the student body against the linoleum. "See ya at lunch!" she waved and took the left turn in the hallway which led to her respective homeroom.

"See ya in Cid's," Pence waved as he opened the door to his homeroom, leaving Hayner to continue his walk to the end of the hall, where his homeroom, Cid's classroom, resided. The way today's schedule worked made it so that Hayner got to spend two consecutive periods with Cid. As he entered the room, he let out a small sigh in relief. Cid wasn't there; must have gone out for Coffee or something.

Hayner walked lazily over to his usual seat in the back right corner, slinging his backpack against the wall. He let out another sigh and stretched his spine against the plastic backing of his desk chair.

"Good morning," said a voice from in front of him. He brought himself back into his desk to see Kairi turned around in hers.

"Hey, Kai. How's it going?" he wasn't actually curious, in fact, out of all the people in his congregation of friends, Kairi was probably his least favorite. But what else was there to do but partake in small talk?

"Goooood," she said, drawing out the word insufferably. He fought the urge to scrunch his face up. He gave Sora and Riku all the credit in the world for having dealt with her since they were kids.

"Great," Hayner said dryly in response, now hoping that Cid would show up soon.

"Hey, Hayner?" Kairi asked, in an uncharacteristic seriousness.

"What?"

"What's that on your neck?"

"Huh?" Hayner felt around on his neck, but came up with nothing. "What are talking about?"

"Hold on," she said, beginning to rifle through her purse. "Ah! See for yourself." She handed him a compact makeup mirror.

He opened up the small piece of plastic and started to angle it around his neck until the reflection caught what she was talking about. On the right side of his neck was a large red mark. He blinked, not believing what he was seeing. "Son of a bitch," he muttered darkly.

"Come again?"

"Uh-nothing!" Hayner stuttered. Quickly he stood up from his desk and began to take wide strides towards the door. That bastard had given him a hickey! He reached for the door, but grasped at air as the door was opened away from him, revealing Cid in the frame, a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and a manila folder tucked under his arm in the other. He towered over Hayner dramatically. He was pretty buff and had to be at least 6'2. But his wrinkled and worn face detracted from any attractiveness.

"Hayner," he regarded the boy, eyes narrowed in distrust, "Just where do ya think _you're _goin'?" Like always, he had a toothpick hanging from his lips. Hayner had a theory that Cid had been a smoker at one point, but quit and used the toothpick to cope.

"Um-I'm feeling sick," he said, trying to come up with an excuse that sounded passable, "I need to go to the nurse. I might puke if I don't get out of here soon."

"Fine, get out. But I'm markin' ya tardy!" He shouted after Hayner, who had already begun walking swiftly down the hallway. He couldn't care less about the threat of a marked tardy, absence, or detention. His record was already in the toilet thanks to Seifer.

Hayner stormed his way into the boy's bathroom. He had walked to the farthest one possible from Cid's room in order to kill time; on the other side of the building in fact. Thankfully he was alone. He took the handicapped stall and locked it behind him, pressing his back to the wall. He knew he was being irrational. Even if other people saw the mark, it wasn't like they would know who it came from, nor would they ever suspect it was from another guy. He knew all of this. But still, the fact that Seifer had left a visible trace of last night was enough to set Hayner on edge. It was like he had branded him, claimed him as his and his alone. It sounded ridiculous in his head and probably would on paper too, but that was how Seifer thought. Even since childhood, he had been pretty possessive.

Hayner leaned over the sink and turned the right faucet until the sink was on full blast, drowning out any possible outside noises. He leaned his head into the basin and splashed the crisp coolant on to his face. The school's water was notoriously unsanitary, but he didn't care. It wasn't like he was drinking it.

He looked up into the grimy mirror, pushing past the graffiti and smudges to see his reflection. He didn't look quite as unruly as he had this morning, but his eyes were frantic now, rather than tired. He couldn't go around school today looking like this, everyone would ask him, "What's wrong?" or "Are you ok?" and he would freak out and run away, just like now. He turned his head and looked at the mark again. The more he stared at it, the more noticeable it seemed to become. He needed to cover it up. After thinking of some radical strategies, Hayner decided he would simply have to follow through with his excuse to Cid and go to the nurse after all.

Nurse Tifa was pretty used to seeing Hayner in her office, as he was there usually around twice a month. Once again, thanks to Seifer. The smell of disinfectant was thicker than he last remembered, but everything else was familiar, including the voice that greeted him upon entry. "Good morning Hayner. Rather early for a visit, no?"

"Hey," Hayner said, "Um-yeah, I just need a bandage."

"Just a bandage?" she asked, wheeling her chair around to one of her filing cabinets, "That's a first." Hayner was probably Tifa's most frequent customer, so they got along like friends, rather than teacher and student. She was probably one of the few authority figures whose company he enjoyed. But now wasn't the time to linger.

"Yeah, well," Hayner trailed off, keeping his hand on his neck as to avoid Tifa spotting the despicable mark.

"What's it for?"

A couple different lies and excuses floated around in Hayner's head, but he knew Tifa was too smart for any of them. He sighed, earning a concerned look from the nurse. If he had to tell anyone, she was probably the only one he felt comfortable with. "It's a-" he paused, trying to think of a better way to phrase it. Hickey just sounded gross and dirty. "It's for a love bite."

The look on her face softened, as if she understood perfectly well what he was going through. "And you want to cover it up?" Hayner nodded. She handed him the bandage, "Your secrets safe with me." She smiled and gave him a wink.

Hayner fought with the mussels at the corner of his mouth, holding back his smile. "Thanks," he said before walking back out the door.

He headed back to the bathroom and into the handicap stall he had been occupying moments ago. "Stupid thing," he mumbled to himself as he attempted to open the thin packaging that enwrapped the bandage. He hadn't the faintest idea how the manufacturers thought people could get these open. Not everyone had crazy long nails! After much struggling, he got it out and placed it slowly over his neck so he wouldn't have to rip it off if he missed. Once it was concealed, he decided it was time to go back to class.

* * *

"So how many people agreed to come?" Pence asked Olette as the three of them walked out of school together. Roxas wasn't with them, oddly enough. Hayner wasn't sure why. They had both said their apologies, so he figured everything was cool now.

"Everyone!" Olette exclaimed with glee, "Except for Roxas, I haven't been able to get ahold of him. But everyone else is coming thanks to my mastery of persuasion! Am I good or am I good?" She stuck out her hand for a high five, "Don't leave me hanging Hayner!"

"Huh?" Hayner came back to reality and gave her a limp high five.

"Lame," Olette sang, "What's with you, Hayner? Something on your mind?"

"Yeah, you've seemed distracted just about all day." Pence chimed in.

"I'm fine." Hayner said flatly, hoping that his tone would encourage them to drop the conversation, "Just a bit sleepy."

"Well alright," Olette shrugged, "See ya!" she waved as she broke off onto the intersecting street that led to her line of apartments.

The two boys walked a couple more blocks in silence, as Hayner was too absorbed in his thoughts and Pence was, for once, observant enough to realize it and not push. After they parted ways, Hayner let out yet another long, exasperated sigh. How many times had he done that today alone?

He just wasn't sure how to feel about the whole Seifer thing. Hayner could try to deny any feelings for his loathsome rival, but if he hadn't wanted Seifer kissing him last night, then he could have resisted. He could have held his own. But he hadn't. He had knowingly allowed Seifer to have his way with him. They hadn't gone beyond kissing, but the heated intimacy that Seifer had burnt onto Hayner's lips was enough to keep the boy in his mind.

Hayner continued his trek home along a row of shops that would soon transition into the downtown area. He had gotten as far as the record store when a voice called out from behind him.

"Hey, lamer!"

Hayner's blood froze. There were two ways that he knew undoubtedly who that voice belonged to. One, the snarky, challenging tone that it held. And two, no one besides him used the word 'lamer'. Ever.

Hayner turned on his heels, confirming his assumption. "Seifer," he acknowledged the smug teenager with an even tone. He honestly wasn't sure how to feel in this situation, but his default nature towards Seifer was hostility.

"What? That's it?" Seifer asked, still in his signature condescending, nasty style, "You'd think I'd get more of a warm welcome after last night."

Hayner felt his face flush with a mix of anger and embarrassment. They both walked towards one another, closing the distance between them in a couple seconds, until they were chest to chest. They both stared hardly into each other's eyes, battling for dominance through intimidation and will-power. "What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?" Hayner spat, trying to back up his words with as much venom as he could.

But no matter the potency of said venom, Seifer was unfazed. "What's wrong with _me_?" he laughed, "I could ask you the same thing. I'm noticing a lack of respect here. If you want any more of what you got last night, you'd better wise up." He whispered the last couple words into Hayner's ear, who shivered at the airy sensation. Seifer was trying to provoke him, just like always.

Hayner didn't say anything, knowing that ignoring the boy would piss him off the most. And he was right. Keeping his eyes elsewhere and acting uninterested, Hayner could practically feel the increasing anger in Seifer's disposition. Though he hadn't predicted the beanie-sporting teen to grab him by the shoulders and pin him to the brick wall of the building complex. He felt a distant ache as his back collided with the rugged surface, but his attention was mostly focused on Seifer.

He had also not anticipated a violent clash of lips. Seifer continued to push Hayner harder into the wall. He continued his assault by pressing his leg in between Hayner's, rendering him more helpless.

Seifer pulled away and smirked. "I see you found my little surprise," he said before tearing off the bandage on Hayner's neck. Hayner cried out, not so much out of pain, but surprise. "Don't think you can hide it so easily."

Hayner cried out again, this time out of pain as Seifer bit down onto his neck in the same place he had tried to cover up. His teeth were applying significant pressure, but it was clear that he was holding back just enough to avoid breaking the skin. "You bastard," Hayner muttered darkly.

"Aw come on, you know you love it."

Thwack.

Seifer fell back a couple of steps, hand over the side of his face that Hayner had just decked. The taller blond glared daggers into his attacker, but didn't retaliate. "I don't have time for this shit." Hayner spat before pushing past his rival and swiftly walking away.

Hayner could still feel Seifer's gaze in the back of his head until he rounded the next corner. He wasn't sure what to think of what had just happened. Hell, he could barely comprehend it. All he knew was that he had been made a fool of.

Upon returning to his shanty shit-hole of a home, Hayner wasn't surprised to find it still empty. Everything was as it had been that morning. He slung his backpack back onto the kitchen table, which creaked with complaint upon impact. One day that thing was just gonna collapse. Hayner's father had 'inherited' most of the furniture in the house from his grandparents, so it was safe to say that everything was falling apart. How appropriate.

He let out what was probably his millionth sigh that day and dropped himself on the living room couch, dispersing dust particles and a musty aroma of moth balls into the air. He scrunched up his face and held his breath, but shortly after gave up and waited for the enticing wave of sleep to arrive.

* * *

After a couple more days of 'your usual boring-ass school days', Friday had finally arrived. Hayner sat at the lunch table, taking steady bites of what the school was trying to pass off as a burger. Everyone was chatting away with their respective niches that at some point had been established within their group of friends. Sora talked with Riku, Kairi chatted with Pence and Olette, and Hayner usually conversed with Roxas.

But Roxas wasn't here. Again. He was sitting with the seniors. Not just any seniors, the freak show. Those new kids that Roxas seemed to be spending more and more time with. Hayner's brow furrowed as he stared across the cafeteria at Roxas and his new friends. He was laughing pretty profusely. Hayner couldn't remember the last time he heard Roxas laugh that much, and it pissed him off that he wasn't the cause of it. What pissed him off more was that Roxas really looked like he fit in there, what with the black band shirts that they all wore.

"Right, Hayner?"

"Hmm?" Hayner popped out of his thoughts and turned his head to Kairi, who had apparently just asked him a question. "What?"

"I said it's gonna be a lot of fun seeing this band tonight! Weren't you listening?"

"Nope." He said honestly.

"Oh, you mean Dusk?" Riku jumped in, "I'd almost forgotten about that."

Olette laughed, "Typical boys. I went out of my way to make these plans and you guys can't even remember them."

"Where is it gonna be again?" Sora asked, wanting to join in on the group conversation.

"Snow's Café," Pence confirmed, "At 7, I think."

"It's gonna be so awesome," Kairi gushed, "I haven't seen a live band in forever."

"Yeah," Hayner said, fading out of the conversation again. He took another look across the cafeteria, this time focusing his eyes on the redhead. Axel, he was pretty sure it was Axel, had his arm around Roxas. Had they really became such close friends already? Roxas never showed that much comfort around Hayner. He ground his teeth and clenched his fists, trying to not let the anger show up on his face.

The bell rung, signaling a sea of students to stand up and shuffle out of the cafeteria onto their next classes. The mass of people obstructed Hayner's view of Roxas, allowing him to let go of some of his anger. He stood up and discarded his tray before slinging his backpack over one shoulder and joining the crowd towards his next class.

* * *

Once the school day was over, Hayner had a lot of lag time before the show. So begrudgingly, he went back home. Before he opened his front door, he could hear shouting from inside. Dad was home. He entered and found his father standing in the kitchen area. He wasn't much taller than Hayner, but beyond that, they looked nothing alike. His dad was bald with a scruffy beard and had a beer belly to complete the deadbeat image. He held a cigarette in one hand and a phone in the other, which he continued to shout into, "Tell them I'll have the money later! I don't give a fuck! You owe me!"

Hayner closed the door behind him, which earned him his dad's temporary attention, before he returned to his tirade. Hayner let out a tsk. Typical dad. The asshole hadn't had a job in a couple years now and was living off of favors and unemployment. Hayner went up to his closet of a room and grabbed a struggle magazine. He flopped onto his bed and turned the pages, looking for an article or interview he hadn't read yet. The issue was a couple months old.

Glancing at the clock after an undeterminable amount of time, Hayner found that it was 6:30. He figured he might as well just leave then. He went to the bathroom and glanced in the mirror. He shrugged, figuring that the clothes he wore were as good for concert attire than anything else.

He was about to make it out of the house, before he was retracted by a rough and angry voice, "Where the hell do you think _you're _going?"

Hayner turned his head over his shoulder, trying to convey to his father that he only had half of his son's attention. "Out."

"Did you even fuckin' think to tell me?"

Hayner winced at his father's language, the open bottle in his right hand suggested that it was happy hour. "What do you care?"

A vein popped into sight on the side of his father's head before he flung his bottle in Hayner's direction. It smashed against the wall about five feet away, scattering glass onto the floor and leaving a nasty stain on the peeling wallpaper. "Don't talk back to me, you little shit! You're not goin' anywhere!" The drunk old man quickly strode over and grabbed his son by the collar, pushing him against the wall. He let out a low growl, "And what the fuck is that?" he said referring to Hayner's mark.

"It's nothing."

"It looks like a god damn hickey! You been whoring yourself out, eh? Doesn't surprise me much. You always did take after your mother."

Hayner found his ground and pushed his father away, who highly under the influence, stumbled back onto his ass. "Fuck you," Hayner spat before slamming the house door behind him. He knew his old man wouldn't come after him. He was too lazy, not to mention inebriated.

* * *

Snow's Café was surprisingly packed. The combination of dozens of conversations bounced around the tiny space. There must have been at least 200 people there. Hayner looked around for his friends for a couple minutes before he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket.

_We're at the booth, silly! Can't you see us waving?"_

_Olette_

Hayner started scanning all of the booths until he found a mass of high school students, waving their arms at him like maniacs. He cracked a smile. These were his friends. He walked over and said his hellos as Sora scooted into Riku a bit more, making room for Hayner in the U-shaped booth. Olette must have showed up early to get this one.

Everyone had drinks in front of them, weather they were coffees, sodas, or teas. Before he could ask where they got the drinks, as the amount of people in the café made it impossible to spot the bar, Kairi exclaimed, "Everyone up! They're about to come on!"

Hayner felt himself being pushed out of the booth and being led towards by Olette into the crowd. To his dismay, Hayner saw a familiar pink-haired guy on the stage. He recognized him from school, but he couldn't recall a name.

The flamboyant boy leaned over into the microphone, "Ladies and gentleman, please put your hands together for Dusk!"

The crowd erupted in applause. It was weird that so many people would get this excited over some local band, but Hayner supposed if you coated every surface in town with their flyers, people were going to get excited.

* * *

Roxas gulped from backstage. The roaring crowd was unlike anything he had ever heard. He hadn't even considered he'd be playing in front of other people up until this point, and it was making him dangerously nervous. His legs felt like jelly and he could feel his palms start to sweat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for Dusk!" That was Marluxia's cue. It was time to get on stage. Lexaeus was the first to emerge onto the stage and Zexion would soon follow, along with Demyx, then him and Axel.

Somehow aware that something was off with his boyfriend, Axel put a hand on Roxas' shoulder. "You're gonna be great out there." He said before gently placing a kiss on Roxas' cheek.

Roxas blushed, but it wasn't a red flush of embarrassment as he had grown used to. If anything, it was a happy glow. He felt a bit of relief knowing that Axel had faith in him. That little sign of affection was enough to solidify the blonde's legs and get him out on that stage.

The stage lights were bright and took some getting used to, but as Roxas' eyes adjusted, the several dozen faces of the crowd began to take shape. He saw a couple familiar faces from school, his neighborhood, and of course his mom and sister, but he hadn't been prepared to find six faces among the crowd that had completely skipped his mind.

All staring mouths agape were Olette, Pence, Riku, Sora, Kairi, and Hayner, whose expression was the most dramatic of them all. Roxas couldn't believe he had forgotten to tell any of his friends that he had joined the band. Nor could he believe how stupid he had been to assume that they wouldn't be there. The town was covered in Dusk's flyers, of course they would be there!

Had he even told them where he had been all of those times they had tried to get hold of him? Had he been stupid enough to up and leave their lunch table without a word? Had they noticed he had been hanging out with his new friends?

He shook his head slightly, swatting away his worrisome thoughts. Now wasn't the time to worry about personal matters. Now was the time for professionalism. Even if it was only his first show with them, he had to make a good impression on the crowd.

"Thanks for the intro, Marly," Axel spoke into the microphone, gesturing towards Marluxia who stood on the side of the stage. "Isn't she wonderful everyone?" A couple people in the crowd chuckled, while the rest scratched their heads, oblivious to the joke. Marluxia flipped off the singer and mouthed out a couple derogatory terms. "This first song tonight is called _Drifting Through_." He turned his head from the microphone so the band could hear the count off, "One, two, three."

Roxas rather liked this song in particular out of tonight's set. It started off with the main melody being played softly by Zexion. The slate- haired scholar had written it that way so the audience would have to be absolutely silent in order to hear it. And they were. Roxas' heart thumped in anticipation for his part that approached in a couple measures and he was almost certain that the crowd could hear it. The moment was all too surreal, with the lone keyboard playing into the silent night, the lack of sound was simply beckoning to be broken. And Dusk was happy to comply.

Roxas began pedaling away on his bass, as Demyx repeated the song's melody with his sitar on the electric guitar setting. Roxas was stiff as a board and each note felt choppy and lifeless, even though he wasn't making any mistakes. Then all musicians came to a rest for a split second.

And Lexaeus came down brutally on the crash symbol, signaling the entire band to bring the song into full throttle. With a steady beat, Roxas felt himself begin to loosen a tad and start to bob his head.

Axel sang out, "_Seldom do we delve so deep. Break down our walls and expose what's beneath._" His gaze seemed to travel beyond the crowd. It was like he was trying to carry his voice into the streets of Twilight Town, so everyone could hear his voice.

The crowd's reaction was a mix of surprise and adoration as everyone started jumping around and cheering. Roxas fought back a grin, as the song didn't exactly call for happy faces, but he was having so much fun. Never could he have dreamed of such a sensation that the crowd gave him. Their screaming voices and movement seemed to only fuel Roxas' skill, allowing him to gain confidence and loosen up. His hands felt like they were floating over the bridge of his instruments, each note but a fleeting whim that could be carried out effortlessly.

The rest of their set went just as well. With each song, the crowd seemed to applaud more and more. They had reached their final track, a sleep-inducing love song that had the crowd slowly swaying. Roxas and Demyx plucked their strings gently and Zexion played supporting chords that melted into the background. Lexaeus had brought down his intensity as well, tapping lightly on the symbols only at the appropriate times, as not to break the mood.

As for Axel, his lyrics were one step away from being whispered. It was clear by the way the crowd looked at him that they hung on his every word. It was the end of the song and he no longer sung, but spoke, as if he were reciting a poem. His voice sounded haunted and distant, the soft music in the background only adding to his distant tone, "Unaware of how I'm aware of your presence, I reach out from my hiding place and pull you in. I don't know who I see, but when eyes meet there is mutual recognition. Who are you to me? Who am I to you? There is familiarity in your touch. I want nothing more than to smother you in my embrace."

He paused, but the music still played on. He took a breath and scoffed, "My wish is granted. All resistance is abandoned. Our eyes whisper, '_why?_'"

Axel dropped his head and the other members followed suit. And then the lights went out. Comprehending that this had been the band's outro, the crowd once again created a cacophony of cheers and whistles. While the lights were down, the band members grabbed their gear and made their way backstage where they could see. They packed up their stuff and headed out the back door. Roxas could hear Marluxia faintly through the brick walls behind him, reminding the audience who they had just seen and where they could buy a shirt.

The band walked back to the garage, which was now where the band stored their amps and supplies that weren't necessary for individual practice. Demyx and Zexion led the way. From the sound of it, Demyx was gushing about how good Zexion had been, and the short pianist was disregarding all praise. Lexaeus was pushing the cart that held all of the heavy equipment and was naturally talking to no one. And Roxas and Axel trailed behind.

"That was a lot of fun," Roxas said, "We never get that kind of reaction in concert band."

"That's 'cuz you're playing music no one wants to here in concert band," Axel laughed, "And I told you you'd be alright. You're a natural."

"Shut up," Roxas said, playfully punching Axel in the arm, who took the opportunity to wrap that arm around the blonde's shoulder. He didn't fight it. Nobody was out this late to see and the rest of the band was already aware and just fine with it. If anything, Roxas burrowed himself deeper into Axel's semi-embrace as they walked on. He took solace under Axel's _wing_, so to speak. It gave him a sense of security and belonging.

"Heh, it's true."

Zexion squatted down at the base of the garage door and withdrew a key that hung on a thin string around his neck, unlocking the door before lifting it up. Lexaeus wheeled in the cart and poked around in one of the containers, withdrawing a practice pad and a pair of drum sticks. Everyone else, except Axel, had their instruments strapped in their cases over their backs.

"Good job tonight, guys." Axel began, making what Roxas supposed was something of a congratulatory speech, "That had to be the best reaction we've ever gotten. Thanks to Roxas, this band is sounding better than ever." Roxas blushed, grateful for the words, but embarrassed of getting such high accolades in front of the band's original members. "As a reward for our success, we'll take tomorrow off."

Everyone regarded the end of the speech with their own gestures and farewells before heading home. Lexaeus walked right past the garage, most likely cutting through the apartment complexes to get home faster, while Demyx and Zexion took a left.

"How come those two always go home together?" Roxas asked.

"Them? Oh, they live only a couple houses apart." Axel said without hesitation.

"Oh," Roxas responded, expecting a different explanation. "Shouldn't you be going with them, considering you're staying with Demyx?"

"And leave you out in the cold? As if."

Roxas dismissed his thought and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's neck. It would have been a lot easier if he had been just a couple inches taller. He pushed himself up on his toes and pecked Axel on the lips, whose jade eyes were wide in surprise. Probably because he wasn't used to initiating.

Axel spoke soft and low, "You know you took a lot longer to come around than I thought you would. You're pretty stubborn."

Roxas laughed, "Well we're together now and that's what matters, right?"

"Right."

* * *

**Thanks to the few people who reviewed. You guys are awesome. However, in order for this story to progress, I'm going to need a lot more feedback. So I want to see at least 10 more reviews. Sorry to do this to you guys, but until then, this story will not be updated.**


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